From the Bet to the Marriage
by Lonewingwriter
Summary: The problem of the Hokage is the problem of Naruto. Why does he have to do everything the Hokage said? Will this time be the same when he is asked into a certain arrange marriage? Chapter 1-6 are under construction, not beta and suffer from grammar.
1. The fateful meeting

My first naruhina. I hope you would enjoy it. I try to keep everyone in character, Tsunade might look a little bit OOC now but later she will be herself more.

Disclaim: If I have a lot of money I will buy and own Naruto, but I don't. You know what it means, right? :)

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><p>The village of Konoha lies peacefully under the sun, too peacefully in fact. A small wind softly blows the sunshine hair away giving the young man a feeling of contentment and happiness. Here he is, in his beloved village around with his loyalty comrades, his faithful friends. He is the man of good fortune, indeed, despised many bad things that had happened, he has full filled his promises, protected people that he cared about, and gained the recognition and love that he is deserved. But what is this ominous feeling that suddenly begins to form in his stomach? He has a very bad feeling of what is going to happen as he approaches the Hokage Tower. In fact, he doesn't remember anything good had ever come out in the Hokage office. Sigh lightly, he pushes the door open.<p>

"You are late, what is taking you so long? Show some respects to your elders, you know."

That's odd. Bachan must up to something, she usually ignores his lateness, and he is not even that late, not that he is ever late for any important meeting. No actually, he is never late (that explains why she never complains about his lateness before). Looking at the watch, he is like 2 minutes late. That usually is not even a problem, consider his contributions to the village. Hold on a second, for some reasons bachan looks very tense, like she prepares to do something really big. Hope not another S-rank mission, he is tired to death.

"Good morning bachan. What are you up to? I hope not another S-rank mission, uh. You know, it is kind of against the village moral codes to work its shinobis to death, dattebayo. I had like 20 S-rank missions continuously within this month. I don't even stay in the village literally for 3 months".

He suddenly stops his ramblings as bachan waving a piece of paper in a lazy manner. Oh crap, could he ever able to get out of this mess?

"Any complain, kid?"

"No, no, absolutely not, Tsunade-sama. All I asking is a little vacation, just three day"

"Huh"

"No, what I mean is one day. No, half day. Ok, three hours is fine. I just want to have ramen with Iruka sensei"

"Oh, Naruto, if you want to stay in the village you just need to ask so. Acutally, I have a little mission that is prefect to you. No, don't worry kid, you can do it in the village, and spend some time with your friends"

"Yata. I don't know you could be so understandable sometimes, bachan. Let's see, I want to have ramen to Iruka sensei, asking Sakura-chan to another date, having a barbecue with the group. I can't wait to see Choiji face with how much meat we have. Having a sparring match with Neji, Kiba, Lee, and Sasuke".

His high spririt suddenly drops dramatically. Talking about that, it has been a long time since he last checked on Sasuke. How he has been? It has been two years, surely he would have gotten used to the life of the village right? No, he has been thinking too much, last time that he checked, Sasuke was in a much better condition. At this time, when he has much calmed down from his excitement, he notices an evil smile from bachan which gives him a chill. Looking at Shizune, she forcefully smiles at him, a smile that signals him that bachan is going to do something very very stupid, and he is gonna be a part of it.

"Drop the act, bachan. What do you want from me? I am not gonna be another spawn on one of your stupid plans anymore. For your information..."

"FOR YOUR INFORMATION, NARUTO. LOOK AT THIS, I HOPE YOU REMEMBER IT WELL. AND IF YOU CONTINUE TO TALK THAT WAY AGAINST ME, YOU'RE GONNA GET IT"

'Wow, bachan looks very angry, she never mind the way I talk before. Well, she might be a little irritated, but never that angry. And she shows that stupid piece of paper again, I should seriously consider steal it and destroy it once and for all'

While Naruto is still deep in his thought, the Hokage sits down again, and takes a deep breath. How she is gonna persuade him to do it is the biggest problem. She knows Naruto, there is no way he is gonna agree to this. He is very protective to his friends, but that also could be used against him. This time she knows she needs much more than her precious paper to win this game. It is so much difficult to talk this out when Shizune glances her nonstop, signals her that it is a very bad idea. She can not back out now, her pride is at stake, her career as a gambler is at stake. She has to protect it no matter what.

Naruto waits and waits. Since bachan sits down, she hasn't talked yet. Something must really trouble her. A flood of guilt swaps him, he shouldn't be so mean to her. As a Konoha shinobi, he has the resposibility to assist the Hokage. And as Uzumaki Naruto, he doesn't want to see her upset either.

"Bachan. What is happenning? You know I don't mind some little missions at all. Actually, I am about to ask you for more difficult missions, all those solo S-rank missions getting more and more boring. I just finished them too soon I guess. Nowaday, people don't have a lot of tough missions huh"

"So Naruto, you wouldn't mind any missions that I'm gonna assign you at all, right?"

A hint of happiness and hope in her eyes is too much for Naruto to handle. He stupidly answers without a second thought.

"Of course, bachan. You know I am also a very reasonable person"

"That's good to hear". Maybe things will not be as bad as she imagined. "Naruto, this is your next mission"

"Hai"

"You are gonna marry Hyuuga Hinata by tommorow"

Shizune knows it is a very bad idea, one of the worst idea could possible come from Tsunade-sama. On the second thought, it is not an idea from Tsunade-sama. Thank god. But she goes with it anyway, so no thank. This is bad, this is bad. Naruto looks like he is gonna faint. The Uzumaki Naruto is gonna faint. Our village is gonna be doom. People will hate Tsunade-sama, her career as a Hokage is going to an end. Too much for her peaceful days at the village. Tsunade-sama will be kicked out of the office once people know how long Tsunade-sama has used the village hero for her personal deeds. Oh, she is going to go back to the dark days when she has to run away non-stop with Tsunade-sama from the debt holders. She has to do something fast, but what to do, what to do?

"Do you want some water, Naruto?"

…...!

Oh my god, what a stupid thing to say, but may be she should go get some water any way. It might be the best idea get away from the scene as soon as possible. She would not want to caught in the fight of the two most powerful shinobi in the village. Personally she would like to them to take the fight esle where, it's costly and time consuming to repair the Hokage office and maybe the whole tower, and she is going to be the one who has to do it. May be she should go by the Supplier and Maintainance Office on her way to get the water. Wait, what she is thinking in this time of crisis?

"Thank you, Shizune-oneechan, but I am fine"

Wow, as expected from Naruto. He seems to regain his wit. Shizune has to admit that Naruto has grown a lot through out the years. He has been more mature and smarter? Maybe smarter in some way but he's still the moron of the village that everyone loves. It would be the huge lost for the village to lose some of his stupidity. More than stupidity, it is more like pure and sincere. Yes, he is so pure and true to himself and care too much for his friend that outsiders see it as stupid, but she and other villagers know it better. That stupidity is something valuable to the village and possibly to the whole shinobi world

"Bachan, this is a bad joke. Tell me what is really happening. I don't want to be in the dark, dattebayo."

"This is exactly what is going to happen tomorrow, and that the end of it. You know that you are bound to me by this piece of paper, right?"

"You know very well that that piece of crap is not going to help you this time. There is no way I am gonna..."

"You called this a piece of crap? Come on Naruto, you know more than that, you are the one who beg me to make this piece of crap as you call it"

"I never beg..."

"Shizune, read this out loud so that moron will remember it deep in his head and never dare to talk back to me again"

"Tsunade-sama, I don't think it is a good idea to..."

Tsunade sends Shizune a death glare piecing through her whole body and to her core that reminds her the best way to save her little life right now is to comply to the furry Hokage.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, the worthless little brat that never in my wildest dream imagine the honor to be in this precious piece of paper by the hand of the Great Fifth Hokage *cough*. Due to my utmost admiration to your unrival strength, your outstanding personality, your unimaginable beauty, *cough* and your incredible kindness for such an incest like me. I am begging you, Hokaga-sama, please make me your apprentice(.!) No, I am not even worth to be your apprentice, please, please, please make me your slave(...?) I would die in content if I have the honor to be your slave for your lifetime, using my humble strength to assist your great personal goals(... ) Yes, I am your personal slave from now on, and you are free to use me as you see fit.*double cough*. If I ever get the gut to do the most abominable thing as to discard this contract and deny your ownership over me, I am not worth to be called a shinobi, to eat ramen everyday, to dare ever show my shameful face to my friends and the villagers, and to be called Uzumaki Naruto ever again . Sign: Uzumaki Naruto"

**A/N**: What in the ( ) and * * is Shizune reaction while reading the paper, it is not in the paper itself

Shizune feels her face get hotter by the minutes she goes on with the contract. Who in the right mind could have write such a …..letter. She feels so embarrassed just by reading it. Glancing over Tsunade-sama, she can feel the heat rising from her body too. She also seems to be so embarrassed just by hearing it. Is this possible that Tsunade-sama hasn't read it even once? She know that Naruto is dense but to write such a contract is so much not like Naruto. Talking about Naruto. Oh my God, he is fainting, literally, fainting.

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><p>That is the first chapter. It's supposed to be shorter. But I think it too short so I put two chapters into one. Let me know what you think. The story is still in development, so any idea of how the story should progress is welcome. If you like this chapter and want me to continue the story, please press the review button right under this story. Anyone can review and you don't need an account to review. Review make me happy :D.<p> 


	2. The contract and Naruto answer

**A/N**:Check my profile for story update, and vote on how the story should progress. I need your inputs, please help me. My profile has all the details.

Here is the new chapter. I enjoy writing this so much that I might update it faster than I thought.

'something': this is the character inner thought

I will not write down who is talking or thinking but will make sure that you could still all understand. If not, please let me know in the review or pm me.

Also I will use suffix like bachan, ojichan, chan, kun...Please let me know if you don't understand what it means. I will explain it at the end of the chapter.

Hope you enjoy it

Disclaim: Not own Naruto

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><p>"Are you feeling better Naruto?" Shizune lets him sit on the chair as she hands him over a glass of water<p>

"Cheez. A shinobi should not be fainted so easily"

"BACHAN. LIKE YOU ARE THE ONE TO TALK. WHO COULD KNOW THAT YOU ARE CAPABLE TO WRITE SUCH A THING. I FEEL SO EMBARRASSED JUST BY HEARING IT. YOU ARE INSANE. LAND ME THE LETTER NOW AND LET ME PUT AN END TO IT"

'Oh, so Tsunade-sama is the one who writes it. So why does she seems to surprise and embarrass when she hear it? And for godsake, Naruto, if you are gonna sign it at least read it first'

"I don't know what you are talking about. You are the one who write it and begging me to sign it"

"This is the last time I will ever say this again. I NEVER NEVER BEG YOU FOR THIS DAMN CONTRACT"

"Oh yes, you do".

_Tsunade version of the flashback:_

_Naruto is kneeling in front of her, tears in his eyes, knocking his head loudly on the floor_

"_Tsunade-sama, please please please let me be your slave, please sign this contract"_

"_Oh, Naruto, I would never do such thing. I have the whole village as my slaves, *cough*, I mean my assistants, why should I need a slave now, let a lone is you, the troublemaker"_

"_But Tsunade-sama, this is the only way I can show my gratitude for your kindness. If is not for your voices, Sasuke's life could not be saved, and he could not return to the village. You are the greatest shinobi in this whole world, the only shinobi that I have ever admired and worshiped. Please do me another favor and let me serve you for the rest of my life"_

"_Um. if you say so, but..."_

"_Oh, thank you very much Hokage-sama, please sign this, and be my master for life"_

_End of flashback_

"That is ridiculous, bachan. Is the Naruto in your version anything like me? I don't think you could even dream such a ridiculous one let alone but it in your flashback. The truth is you tricked me to sign this stupid thing."

_Naruto version of the flashback:_

_Today is a happy day for me. I have successfully persuaded the Shinobi Alliance to get a pardon on Sasuke and let the village of Konoha keep an eye on him from now on, of course with the help of Tsunade-obachan guarantee in front of other Kages to never let Sasuke run loose and cause any harm to the shinobi world again. So I decide to go to the Hokage office and say my gratitude for her. I am humming my favorite song while opening the door._

"_Ohayo, Obachan. How are you doing today? I want to say..."_

"_Hum, Naruto, huh. What are you doing here?"_

"_Like I was about to say it. I am here to say..."_

"_Oh, never mind that Naruto, let have a drink to congrat on our victory in the Fourth Shinobi War. I never like war, you know, and it happened that I was in most of the shinobi wars. I just want a normal life, being able to gamble days after days, years after years..."_

'_This is bad. Obachan is drunk. I doubt she could ever hear what I am about to say'_

"_Naruto. What are you waiting for? Grab a sake. Go for it"_

"_Oh bachan, I am not 20 yet. I am not allowed to drink"_

"_I never know you are the one who is so stick with rule. Rule, rule, rule. If I follow rule, Sasuke could not even be alive, not alone return to the village. Why don't you show some gratitude and drink for our victory huh? Everyone is happy. Aren't you happy?"_

"_I am happy. But drinking is not good. I have promised my mother..."_

'_Cheez. I should as well drink just to show my gratitude a bit. A little bit could not be harm right?'_

_I don't remember much but I drink quite more than just a little bit. In my unconscious mind, I remember bachan writes down something with great happiness and ask me to sign it. Something makes bachan happy must make me happy too, right?_

_End of flashback_

'Hum. So who is the one actually writes it. As I remember...'

_Shizune correct version of the flashback:_

_Today is a happy day. Everything is going to return normal to the village of Konoha. The war is over with the victory on our side. The shinobi wourld is going to remain as it is. But Tsunade-sama seems to be trouble by something. She has drunk too much sake this morning, and is sleeping on the desk. I go to the desk and help her to reorganize it. Then I see it, no, to be more presisely, them, ten piles of debt papers right in front of the sleeping Tsunade-sama. Being the Hokage has the biggest disadvantage that she cannot run anywhere, and everyone knows who she is. We have worked hard over the last four years to pay off some of her debts, but it is just like a small drop of water out of the whole ocean. And Tsunade-sama's habit has not help at all. She continues to gamble even as she has become the Hokage, and added significantly more debts in to her already huge one. With the destroy of the village and the shinobi world, the trouble debts just grow larger and larger. We are in a big pinch right now. I don't know if we have to sell the whole village to pay off our debt, not that we allow to._

"_Shizune huh? When did you get there? I just have the greatest dream ever. In my dream, Naruto has been begging me over and over again to be my slave and promise to pay off all of my debt"_

"_What is a weird dream, Tsunade-sama. I am sure Naruto would never do such thing. Beside, he is not billionaire, how can he help you pay off your debt?"_

"_On the contrary, he is a gold mine, Shizune, a big gold mine. Some of the debtors told me to erase all of my debts just by getting them some of his pictures and autographs. Bigger ones ask me to pay off my debts by having Naruto working on their missions. Not only the debtors but almost everyone want him on their mission requests or even just have a chance to talk or have his pictures. If I have Naruto to help me on some of my personal businesses, I am sure we can pay off our debts in no time. I can even bet on his performance and earn some extra money for my little poker games. Hehe"_

_Tsunade-sama is so much on her little world that I doubt anything I say would make sense to her now._

"_Shizune, get me more sake, will you."_

_Well, maybe she deserves a little break from all of what happen. A little more sake as a reward to help her relax could not be so bad. As I return to the room with more sake , Naruto has already been in the room, he seems wanted to say something. Tsunade-sama grabs one bottle of sake in my hand and gives it to Naruto._

"_Here, the newest juice from one of my friend. You may never heard of it. The chesnut juice. Go ahead and have the whole bottle. It tastes best when you drink the whole bottle all at once"_

"_Uh, thank you obachan"_

'_Hold on, what. Chenust juice?'_

_I am too stun to even do anything, and before I realize it, Naruto already drinks the whole bottle._

"_Obachan, that tastes weird, and doesn't the juice smell like sake?"_

"_Sake, who are you kidding? I am not gonna let an under age drink such thing. Go ahead and get another one"_

"_You are right obachan. Thanks"_

_I immediately run out of the room and get Naruto and Tsunade-sama some water, more for Naruto than for Tsunade-sama, but she does drink a lot today that I doubt she even knows what she is doing now. By the time I return to the room, I see both of them singing something on a piece of paper quite happily._

_End of flash back._

"I never know that Uzumzki Naruto is the one who will go back to his word"

"What?"

"What is your answer, Naruto? Are you keeping your word or not? As your master, I order you to marry Hyuuga Hinata by tommorow. Are you going to deny my rightful order and go against your promises? Will you or will you not marry her?

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><p>"Bachan, this is serious. Marriage is not something that we should joke about"<p>

"Naruto, I'm serious."

"No you are not. No one in their right mind could ask such a thing"

"*Sigh* Do you like her Naruto?"

"Yes, of course. Hey, don't change the topic. I like her, but we don't love each others. Aren't marriage something nourish from love?"

"Who said such a stupid thing? People don't need love in order to be married."

"Oh, really? I see." (Writing down something in his notebook)

"And beside, whether you like it or not, you had signed this paper, you have to keep your promise. You are the man who keeps his promises, right? Is this what makes you the man you are today?"

"That's right, bachan. But this is serious, you cannot bound my promise to force me do something that could change my life and especially the life of other. And beside, there are two reasons why you can't bound me by this stupid contract. Number 1: YOU TRICKED ME TO SIGN THIS STUPID THING, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IS IN THE LETTER. Therefore, it is not valid. Number 2: I have kept my promise long enough, working like a horse for you for two years, accepting all of your ridiculous and humiliated requests to pay off your debts. It is time for me to get out of this stupid contract anyway. Even if you bring it out to the council, I don't think you could even have a chance against me. And no one could accuse me for not keeping my word"

This is bad, Tsunade knows that Naruto has matured a lot, but to this level. Is this the real Naruto? When did he become so calm and collected, making such intelligent and sound argument? Hum, but she is not about to lose yet. She knows Naruto and his weaknesses. Beside, he is still too naive, no way an experienced shinobi such as herself could lose to such a navie child. The contract indeed is worthless in this case, it serves its purpose long enough, it is time to move on the next plan. Don't be so full of yourself, Naruto,the war is just begun. Tsunade feels a wave of energy thrusting through her body as she processes to plan B.

"Naruto, I think you are a better person that this. You know deep down in your heart that a promise is not for some others to judge but yourselves. Are you really care what are others say about you and your promises? Are the value of your promises just that, stopping right where people say you are doing enough ?"

' That's good. I can see a wave of guilt just swept through his eyes. This will work.'

"Bachan, don't you realize that this whole contract cannot buy you anymore? I will not fall to your trap again. It is not like I make my promise volunteerily, you trick me to it. And I didn't even promise, I was tricked to sign this stupid thing. I don't care anymore, do whatever you want to do, let everone know about the contract. I am rather not eating ramen, not meeting my friend, and not being Uzumaki Naruto for the rest of my life than to interfere with Hinata's happiness, forcing her into something she doesn't want to."

"Oh, Naruto, that's good to hear, but are you sure that you're ok with everyone in the village hearing every single words come from this contract?"

'It's so fun to see Naruto face paling, but his resolve is strong, he is not gonna give in yet. Let see if he could survive another blow.'

"And beside Naruto. How do you know that Hinata will not happy with the marriage, that it is something she doesn't want to do?"

' That's good. He's speechless now'

"Don't lie to yourselves. You know Hinata's feeling toward you right?"

"Bachan, how do you..."

"I heard from Katsuyu that Hinata confessed her love to you in the middle of the battle with Pain. It has been two years ago. Poor the little girl, she might still be waiting for your answer. I heard through out this two year she has refused countless suitors who are much better gentlemen than you are. You are not even a gentleman, or a man. How can a man make a good girl like her suffer like that? Do you want her to live alone until she dies, waiting in desperation for you. You are such a heartless bastard. And now you want to break her heart by refuse to take her hand in marriage and give her away to an old man in a faraway land right?"

"WHAT? What do you mean?"

"And here I think at least you are a good friend. You seem to know nothing about what is going on in the Hyuuga household, aren't you? Don't you even care to check on her once in a while? Since she has rejected countless worthy suitors who are much handsome and talented than you are, her father has been so dissappointed in her that he decided to give her away to an unknown old man in the Land of Storm"

"The Land of Storm? I have never heard of it"

"Of course you never heard of it. It is an far far away land at the end of this world. Rumor is that the land is surrounded all year with storm, and the most that people could survive in there is one year"

'My god, Tsunade-sama imagination sure run wild. The Land of Storm? The only person who could ever believe in such a story is Naruto. I don't even know what he is doing in his Academy day. I'm sure they did teach geography though.'

"O Kami. We have to do something. Her father sure does not have the right to do some thing like this, right? Bachan, hurry up and cancel the wedding, dattebayo."

"There will be no wedding. She just simply goes with that old man to the Land of Storm by tomorrow. Don't worry Naruto, she just has to live with him until he dies. She is a shinobi, sure she will survive in that land for three or four months, right? And by the look of that man, he might not be able to live long. But who know? He might live for another three or four years. Actually he is the only one able to live in that land for forty years and is the only resident now. Oh by tomorrow it could be two, including Hinata. And if she dies after three or four months, he can always find another one. Hey, Naruto, where are you going?"

"To kick Hinata's father ass and free her."

"And?"

"And what?"

"What are you going to do after that"

"Huh"

"If you are not gonna marry her, it could be best to let her die in that land than to give her hope and then crush her heart. I am sure she will prefer to die as a married women than as a lonely old women"

"Don't be ridiculous. It is not the time to joke. I am going."

"For the last time. I am not joking. Think about Hinata's feeling a bit will you. And her future too. If you are not marry her, her future is doom. Even if she could run away from that marriage, she could never be a Hyuuga and a Konoha shinobi again. The Hyuuga has certain rules over their members that no way the village could interfere. You know how much Hinata tries to become a strong shinobi right? She will be rather be with that old man and die in a far away land as a shinobi than to live as a rouge ninja or as a normal person and never to come back to Konoha again"

"BUMP"

"Careful Naruto. We are in a tight budget now. You have to work hard to pay for this desk later. Shizune, write this down as another one of Naruto debts to me."

"YOU MUST ******* KIDDING ME? DON'T TELL ME THAT WE CANNOT DO SOMETHING FOR HER?

"Of course we can. That is why I tell you to marry her. As ugly and stupid and talentless as you are, I can still twist some ways and persuade Hiashi to accept you as his son-in-law. And remember, you owe me big time for this. If not for your little service for me, I would never never help you and mingle into the Hyuuga business"

"But, as I say we are not in love. And I don't know about anything about marriage or having a family, I might need some time. And doesn't it seem unfair to Hinata to marry me while I am not in love with her? I don't want to hurt her feeling, dattebayo."

"Huh, so love is important than your friend's life huh. If you don't want to hurt her feeling make it a mission to love her"

"You cannot make it a mission to love someone. Love is nature..."

"Enough with your rambling. Since you are so insist to let your friend die in the Land of Storm, I will not push this any further. Shizune, hand me the moving out letter so I can get Hinata the permission to leave the village by tomorrow"

"Hold on"

"Naruto, you have no more business here. You can leave. And about your vacation, three days is enough right. Make sure to see Hinata when she leaves tomorrow. You are dismissed."

"Don't...don't sign it yet, Tsunade-sama. I have to think it again"

Tsunade begins to sign.

"I agree.. I agree to marry Hyuuga Hinata. So please don't sign it Tsunade-bachan"

"What? I didn't hear you clearly. Are you saying something, Naruto?"

"I, UZUMAKI NARUTO WILL MARRY HYUUGA HINATA"

"Are you sure Naruto? Are you doing this voluntarily? I don't want to hear others say that I force you or something?"

"Yes, Tsunade-obachan. I marry Hinata is because I want to. No one have influenced me in my decision."

"Um, good to hear. Shizune, get Hinata and her father in, so that they can sign on the marriage agreement"

"Huh, what?"

Hiashi and his daughter come in. Triumph in his eyes as he approaches the broken Hokage desk.

"So I see the marriage is in order. My humble thank you for your effort"

'Hm, Hiashi, you are gonna pay for this latter. I'll make sure you will remember the consequence of messing with the Hokage. But for now I have to play my part properly'

"Of course Hiashi, the duty of the Hokage is to make sure everyone of this village is happy. I'm sure Naruto and Hinata will be a very happy couple? Right, Naruto?"

"Huh. Bachan. What's going on? Why does this seem like..."

"Sign here Naruto. Good. Here Hinata. I now announce you two husband and wife."

"Excellent job, Hokage-sama. You two have my blessing. I have prepared everything for tomorrow wedding. Hinata, come home with me this instant and try another kimono. I believe that the last one is too plain. You should not shame our family. And Naruto, you look tired. You must be exhausted from your missions, I heard that you just come home this morning. Get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day. Your wedding kimono will be presented to you tomorrow. Good bye Hokage-sama, and I wish you the best."

And with that the two leave the room as fast as when they enter it leaving Naruto standing dumbfound and speechless.

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><p>"Is this just me or really this whole marriage is a set up?"<p>

"Of course it is just you. And yes it is a set up so that you could save Hinata's life from her crude fate"

"No. I mean like everyone already expected me to get married. Like you are the one who set this whole thing up. Isn't it weird that Hinata and her father appear right after I declare my will to marry her? And he seems to have the whole wedding ready. Didn't you just say that there will be no wedding, and even if it does, why does he have the kimono ready for me?"

"Because I am one of the most the elite shinobi of this world. Of course my effectiveness has to be superior compared to the like of you. And the Hyuuga is the most noble and wealthy of this land, of course there is no problem for them to prepare a wedding in just one day let alone having a kimono for some poor little kid. Be graceful to be able to get into such a family"

"Oh, I see. But something still feel off. Don't you think so Shizune?"

"I'm so tired with just talking to you right now. Dismiss. And remember don't mention the story about her marriage off to The Land of Storm to anyone. You don't want her to feel sad and others to feel bad for her, do you?"

"Of course I will not, I would not like her to feel sad at all. Bye, Obachan"

"Shizune."

"..."

"Shizune"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. I can't believe you are able to pull this off. Naruto sure is dense"

"Not for long. Sooner or later he will know. So we have to make sure by the time he knows it, there is nothing he can do. Have two ANBU to watch him closely, and call Iruka now. I will make sure there will not be anything wrong with tomorrow wedding. By the end of tomorrow, our jobs are done and we don't have to worry about this mess anymore. It will be Naruto's job to clean it."

* * *

><p>AN Please review if you like this story. It encourage me to write and update faster. And please let me know if the chapter too long, too short. What length do you prefer more? This chapter length or chapter 1 length.

Just click on the review button right under this. You don't need to register to review.


	3. The wedding day

**A/N**: I need your help. I have had the plot up to half of the story, but I have multiple possible endings to choose from. I like all of them, so I want your inputs on what endings do you like. Click on my penname on the top of this page lonewingwriter to go to my profile; all details are under Story Update. Let make this an awesome story together.

Also, thank you for those who read, favorite, alter, and especially take your time to review this story. Your words are what encourage me to write.

I can't wait to share this to all of you.

So this is the new chapter. Good news: many hints to what is going on behind the marriage, and yes Naruhina moment, finally (yahoo!) Bad news:... Anyway, I hope you will enjoy it.

**Disclaim: **I just have a dream, a weirdest dream that I own Naruto. Wake up. *Sigh* Why can't dream come true?

* * *

><p>'I just have a weird dream. The weirdest dream, that I will marry to one of my best friends, Hyuuga Hinata.'<p>

"Naruto-sama. Please open the door. We have the wedding kinomo ready to you"

One of the most nature response to the young man is to run away, the same way someone run for his life. By the time he comes to his sense, he is already on the top of the Hokage Monument. Sitting on the head of his father, he runs his hand over his hair, trying to recollect what had happened, and all he could feel right now is fear. He is so scared that all he wanted to do is to run away again. But to where. He loves his village too much to be able to part from it. And Hinata, he is not cold hearted enough to leave her alone in their wedding. But the last thing he wants to do now is to come to the wedding. He is scared, really really scared right now. He does not know what to do anymore. Then he hear footsteps coming closer and closer. This chakra. He smiles, feeling much more relax.

"Naruto. So you are coming back. Want to grab some ramen?"

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei. I'm not feeling hungry right now."

"What's up Naruto? You are the groom today. Don't you suppose to be more happy?"

"So indeed everyone knows about my wedding but myself"

"We just know about it yesterday, but everyone is very excited. It is the wedding of the hero of our village after all."

"This whole hero crap. It's been almost three years since I defeated Pain, I don't know why people are still clinging on it"

"Saving the village from Pain is just the beginning of your heroism. Your contribution is the main reason we win the Fourth Shinobi War, and your endless efforts to reunion the big five countries and the small ones to bring peace to the shinobi world is not something that people can ignore from you. Everyone is watching you, looking up to you and expecting more from you"

"It could be such a big burden sometimes"

"But you choose to bear this burden don't you?"

"But I don't even know if I can still handle it."

"It is nice sometimes to have someone near you and share some of the burdens, or just to be there for you all the way, you know."

"You mean Hinata. But I don't know if it is fair to put some of my burdens on her. My destiny is something only I should bear"

"Like I said, you need not to put any of your burdens on her, just keep her with you"

"Nevertheless, if she is to be with me she will have to bear some burdens whether she or me like it or not"

"We as shinobi always have responsibilities, burdens as you call it. That is what make us stronger. I'm sure she don't mind any responsibilities come from being with you whether how heavy it is"

"It is just so unfair for her to bear my destiny with me while I cannot ….*sigh*... I cannot love her the same way she loves me. I just feel like I am taking advantage of her feeling if she is to be my wife."

"Are you still in love with Sakura?"

"As I am right now, I have no right nor ability to love anyone"

"You are a great person, and you have all the rights as well as abilities to love and to be loved from anyone. You must learn to relax. Don't take yourselves so hard. Why not give it a try? To love, that don't think you are not capable of love because I know you are. Don't you believe in me?"

"I do...And... I do love you, Iruka-sensei"

"I know, I love you too. See, it's not hard to love right."

"Hihi. I can be a big moron sometime. But I guess romantic love and brother love could be very different. To be honest. I never have a family before, so I don't know how to be a husband. I don't even have a date before and never in a relationship. I just don't know how to act, how to live with another in the same roof especially when we, well, not know each other as much as husband and wife should."

"Isn't this whole village your home now, Naruto? Aren't we already your family? Just be yourselves Naruto. Hinata is already a part of your family, you just need to take the next step and get to know her better. Sometimes taking thing slow is good. Continue to be friend, be as comfortable as you can with each other as possible. Like two friends living in a same roof. You don't have to do anything. Just be your normal self and act the way you normal did around Hinata, and see how thing go."

"Thank you Iruka-sensei. I feel much better now. Be sure to come to my wedding. I have to go and meet Hinata. It's such a shame that I have no part in my own wedding, and I don't even know what's going on. I guess I should get going now. See you later Iruka-sensei"

"Hey, Naruto. Be careful. Don't run too fast"

* * *

><p>ANBU #1: Tsunade-sama is such a genius<p>

ANBU #2: Genius? She is way too scary. Poor Naruto.

* * *

><p>"Why can't I see her now? We are going to marry in just another few hours, right? I have something I want to tell her "<p>

"Naruto-sama, like we said, you are not allowed to meet her until the wedding"

"Perfect-timming, Naruto, let go inside and get some rehearse."

"Hiashi-sama"

"Hiashi-sama"

"Hiashi-ojichan? What? Rehearse? I don't know what you are talking about. It's good that you are here though. I want to meet Hinata. I have something to tell her."

'Ojichan? this man sure has no manner, but that could also be changed'

"What are you talking about? It is a bad omen to meet the bride before the wedding. We have many things to do, hurry up and follow me to the hall."

So for the rest of the day until the wedding, Naruto becomes a subject of harsh trainings to become the right gentleman for the wedding, that includes sitting like a status for hours while keeping a friendly smile in his face, politely asking people for teas, learning how to address people correctly, learning the names of every guest and their positions and even their interests and habits? (what's the point of that anyway?). However, being a genius as he is, he has no problem to complete all of this in a manner of a few hours. He, after all, is Uzumaki Naruto, the man who had had even tougher trainings, trainings that are impossible to most shinobi; this is nothing, of course with the help of his bunshins. He has to prove to bachan that he's also a decent ninja who can get thing done quickly and effectively. However, Hiashi-ojichan does not seem to be very happy with that many clones of the groom running around the mansion though.

* * *

><p>The wedding is terrible. Why can't he meet his bride and has to be stuck with a bunch of strangers? Of course he does not mind a little bit of attentions and meetings with new people. But this is insane. Three hours of greeting people, shaking hands, engaging in smalls talks, taking picture, giving autograph, and he doesn't even have a chance to talk with any of his friends yet. Certainly they are not happy with his sudden wedding, and he has not talked to any of them since his return to the village. Chojji is happy with all the food, and Ino is too busy flirting with all of the young men in the room. Shikamaru keeps his usual uncared face, but Naruto knows he is deeply bothered inside. Kiba and Shino sure are piss. Kiba glares at Naruto sending him several death messages along the way, and his dog Akamaru looks so ready to bite him into pieces. Shino seems to be calm and quited as ever but Naruto can sense his bugs all around him ready to attack at any moment. But what scare him the most is this aura that surrounded him since the wedding, a clear killing intent filled with such ferious anger that sends cold chills to his spine and makes he shiver helplessly. The problem is that he can not identify the culprit although he is sure that person is somewhere in the room. What upsets him most is that his team is not even here. Sai, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei are nowhere to be found. Maybe be they are so disappointed in his reckless decisions that they are not even bother to come.<p>

" *Sigh* Sorry, but I really have to go, I need to talk to someone"

"But Naruto-san, we just talk, and I haven't properly introduce myself yet. I am a distant cousin of Hinata-san. So I guess we all relatives now, hehe. And I haven't believed in my ear when I heard you and Hinata-san is going to be married a week ago. It is such an honor for me to be a relative of the great Uzumaki Naruto. I wanted to meet you so badly that I asked my dad to delay our stay for another week so that we can all attend your wedding. It has been my dream to talk to you, and shaking hand with you, and hear more of your tales, and..."

"Do you want to take a photo with me now? I can sign at the back of the photo. But after that I really need to go and meet my bride"

"Can't wait to see your lovely wife, I see. Thank you so much Naruto-san. Can I have another two pictures of you with your signature at the back? My sister and her husband are also great fans of you. It is bad that they cannot attend the wedding though. They are in a honeymoon, also a newly wed like yourselves and Hinata. It is so fortune that my sister marries to the Minister of..."

This is too much for Naruto. As young man continues his rambles, Naruto doubts any word could go into his ear now. He is just so tired, but he is nowhere near to escape this hell. Another distant relative of Hinata approaches him who is appeared to be the father of this young man, and then Hiashi-ojichan comes to rescue him from the two only to introduce him to some feudal lords from the land of Rice or Sake or whatever.

* * *

><p>By the end of the wedding, when he thought that he is going to be free from this hell once and for all, a group of reporters approach him and bombing him with tons of questions:<p>

"Naruto-sama, is this true that you agree to this arrange marriage to secure your position as the future Hokage?"

"No, Naruto-san, according to my sources, the reason for such sudden marriage is because Hinata-san is pregnant with you. Can you confirm this?"

"Naruto-sama, is this true that you agree to this marriage to prove with the whole village that you are not gay, and that the relationships between you and Sasuke or Gaara are just rumors?"

"From my very reliable sources, the reason you agree to this is because Tsunade-sama loses the bet..."

"THAT IS ENOUGH YOU MORONS"

Tsunade-obachan appears from no where with Hinata and decides to save the day. She abruptly puts Hinata hands on his and returns to the crowd:

"LISTEN, AND LISTEN WELL, ALL OF YOU MORONS. THIS MARRIAGE IS OUT OF VOLUNTEER WILL FROM BOTH NARUTO AND HINATA. YES, IT IS THE BLOSSOM OF THEIR LOVE"

"So is this true, Tsunade-sama, that Hinata is pregnant so that they have to hurry up the process?"

"No, absolutely not. Their love is very pure and romantic. There is no such act in the process."

So Tsunade-bachan goes on and on about how their love blossom from a childish crush to true love, of course with the mention of Hinata's confession in the Pain battle and how significant the role of the Hokage to bring the two together, with great emphasize on how dense and stupid Naruto is. It is amazing to see how people so absorb in her story that Naruto doubts they could even question the valid or realistic of it. Anyhow, it seems to calm the crowds, and everyone is so happy with the story that they all decide to leave and let the happy couple have some time alone together.

* * *

><p>"Ano, Naruto-kun"<p>

"Hum, what's up Hinata?"

"Um, ano, why do you want to marry me?"

She asks with such sincere in her eyes that make Naruto feels guilt again. He cannot tell her that he agrees to it on an impulse nor tell her the story about the Land of Storm. He does not want her to think he marries her out of pity or responsibility, but he does not want to lie to her either.

"Don't you want to marry me, Hinata?"

Hinata blushes like crazy, but she looks into his eyes again this time with more determination and gut

"Naruto-kun, I don't know much about marriage, so I cannot tell you that I want to marry you or not. But in the bottom of my heart, I always want to be with you, watching you, supporting you, and protecting you. I want to see your smiles and I want you to be happy, so I have to know why do you want to marry me. I don't want you to agree for something that will make you regret later, something that will make you unhappy. I can go and tell my father and Hokage-sama this instant once I know your answer."

Naruto takes Hinata hands and puts it onto his lips, his blue eyes shine into her lavender one, noticing her face redder and redder by the time.

"Now I know for sure, Hinata. That this is the right decision. I am a selfish brat who just want to have someone by his side and care for him. But I, also, want to make you happy, want to protect you and make you smile all the time. Did I ever mention that you have a very beautiful smile? I have never forgotten the way you smile before you said you love me. It is you and others people in the village that keep me going on and become who I am today"

Blush. Blush. Blush. Could Hinata face possibly be redder?. She is deep in happiness that she doesn't even know if this is all a dream. However, she quickly comes back to reality as she continues to listen to Naruto.

"However, I have to admit, Hinata that I...*sigh*... I don't..."

"I understand, Naruto-kun. I never ask you to love me, and I never expect an answer when I confess. I guess it just an impulse on my side want to let you know about my feelings, but now I know yours. And to be honest, Naruto, I am very happy. Just being near you like this makes me very happy."

Naruto smiles broadly at her and she smiles back. There is no need for more words as they all know what is in their hearts.

* * *

><p><strong>AN** An end for now. Hope you like it. If so please review, and let me know how do you feel about this. Is there anything you don't like about this chapter or this story? Your voices are very important to me.


	4. The wedding night

**A/N: **So this is the new chapter, just a little comic relieve preparing for more big scenes coming up, nothing really big happened. But you might want to read it though if you want to understand what will happen in the next chapter. I could have put this and chapter 3 together, but then it would be too long, so I decided to split them up. I will update chapter 5 shortly after.

Thank you for those who read and reviews. My apologies for any mistake in grammar and spellings in the previous chapters. I will be more careful in proofreading. I hope that it does not affect much your enjoyment in reading the story. Please let me know if the problem still exists.

P/S: Please vote in my profile. I will keep the poll up until Sunday.

(6/2/11)

**Disclaim:** Naruto is not in my possession.

* * *

><p>"So, Hinata, do you want to grab some ramen? I can't believe your father does not let me eat anything for the whole days. He is even worse than bachan."<p>

"Sorry, Na-Naruto-kun"

For some reason, Hinata's stutter comes back and she continues to keep her eyes down to her kimono. Naruto takes Hinata's hands and leads her out.

"Whose hand do you think you are holding now, Naruto? Get off Hinata-sama' hands. And you two are not gonna leave one step out of this house."

"Huh, Neji. What's up with you? I have not seen you at the wedding. Where have you been? What makes you so angry, dattebayo."

But before Neji has time to response a servant says something to his ear and he immediately leaves.

"Naruto kun, we h-have some ramen in in the kit-kitchen. If you want, w-we can go there."

"Sure, I am so hungry to even go anywhere now. Thanks, Hinata."

On their way to the kitchen, Naruto and Hinata invites Kiba, Shino, Ino, Choiji, Shikimaru, Lee, and Tenten to join them.

"Wow, I didn't know that you two were meeting secretly for the past two years. Hinata, I understand, but for you to keep your mouth shut for so long is a surprise, Naruto"

Kiba sure is dense to believe in every word Bachan says. But it is not bad, Kiba has returned to his normal self and seems to happy for him and Hinata. And it appears that he is not the only one buy bachan stories.

"I know right. It is so romantic though. I can't believe that Naruto has been waiting for you every morning at your mansion gate to have a chance to walk and talk with you, Hinata. You are so lucky."

And here he hopes that Ino has more brain than that. How the hell was he going to wait for Hinata at her house while he spent most his time for the past two year working like a horse to pay off bachan debts?

"Oh, and for Hinata to leave her house every night to meet Naruto at the monument. Love sure is powerful. How many times have you guys kissed?"

Naruto and Hinata feel the heat raising on their faces and none could let any word out of their months. God, Tenten sure is nosy. With this pace Naruto does not know what kinds of crazy stories would come out about their love life. To be more precisely, their imaginable love life. With this, the story of Hinata being pregnant sure would not become so unbelievable. What bachan is thinking?

"Youth is so powerful. Hinata and Naruto, please love each other with all of your heart, and let the whole village bath in your love"

Cheez. If you are so passion about love, find yourselves someone, Lee.

"Um, um, this ramen is good. Can I have more meat, Hinata-san?

And Choiji being Choiji. It seems like it doesn't matter much to Naruto whether Choiji has brain or not because even if he has, it will not cause much trouble to Naruto.

"But I am sure Naruto has his reason for not telling us about their relationship and taking us surprise by their wedding right, Naruto?"

Shikimaru indeed is the only one has brain in this whole table. But now is not the time to admire Shikimaru's wit. He seems to seriously want to know the reasons behind their wedding.

"Shikimaru, buddy, can't you just be happy for your friends' happiness? You make it sound like I have some hidden motive for this marriage. And here I always think that you are the one who know me best"

"So, does this mean that you love Hinata with all your heart and completely content to this marriage?"

"Listen, Shikimaru. I know what I am doing. I have been surrounded by strangers for the whole day, and I just want to have a little dinner with all of my friends to celebrate on my little wedding. Now, tell me more about what happened in the village while I was gone. And this ramen sure is tasty. Did you make it yourselves, Hinata?

"Hai, Naruto-kun, I knew you like ramen and I was sure you would not have a chance to eat anything today, so last night I tried to make some ramen for you. I'm glad you like it"

"Wow, you are so smart, Hinata. Thanks a lot. This is the best ramen I have ever eaten. I wish I can have it everyday"

"How sweet."

"So cute"

"So this is the power of youth, the power of love"

"Um, um, um this ramen is good. Can I have another one, Hinata-san?"

"So troublesome"

"I don't know you are such a womanizer."

"Hum..."

Somehow Naruto manages to get off the topic about the wedding. The group continues eating in harmony, talking about the village, the training, and what happened when Naruto was gone. Naruto feels like he is home again after such a long time, and he enthusiastically tells others about his stories when he was away. Before he realizes it, they have spent two hours in the kitchen and it is getting very late. Everyone begins to leave. Before he takes his leave, Shino takes some step back so he could face Naruto:

"If you ever hurt her, I will never forgive you, and I'll make sure you will experience much greater pains than the ones you cause her."

Naruto looks at Shino deep into his eyes.

"I know, Shino. And believe me I care for her just as much as you are"

"Then you should care for her even more, as a husband."

With that Shino takes his leave.

"Well, I am sure we should go home too, Hinata."

"Go home? Oh, right Naruto-kun, sorry I might still need some time to adjust."

"It's ok Hinata. Let's go"

"Where do you think you are going?"

"Good evenning, Otou-sama"

"Ohayo, Hiashi-ojichan"

"Naruto, I think you should stop call me by that name. It's so absurd to address..."

"You're right, Otou-chan. Wow, I actually say it. You know, I never say it before, actually I did, just once. It feels so weird though. I guess this is what it is like to have a family huh?"

'Otou-chan? It is not any better, you moron. But this child...'

"Naruto, I want to talk. Let's meet at the study. Hinata, you can come to."

"Hai, otou-sama"

"Wow, Hinata. Your family sure is rich, this room is so..."

"Ahem, Naruto, to the main business. I would like you to stay here with us. I will prepare a bigger room for you and Hinata here."

"Otou-chan. I will live with Hinata in our house"

"You have to understand the situation. Hinata is my heir, she is a Hyuuga, she is supposed to stay with us. And consider your house, I think it is best for her to stay here."

"Otou-sama, I will live with Naruto-kun in our house."

Hiashi looks at his daughter eyes for a few seconds, and then sighs

"Do what you like. But Hinata has to keep her last name, she has to be a Hyuuga until the day she dies."

"I have no say in that. It will be up to Hinata to decide her last name. Hinata, do you want to keep the Hyuuga name?"

"Yes, I do Naruto-kun, I want to be a Hyuuga until the day I die"

Hinata says this with such determination and pride in her eyes that it makes both Naruto and Hiashi smile.

"Very well then, but there is one more condition. You two have to come here every Saturday night for dinner, except if you have missions. But I want to keep in touch with my daughter and her life."

"Ohh, Otou-chan, you are scared me. For a second I thought you would like me to change my name to Hyuuga too."

"I would not mind much to do so, but consider the effect of the Uzumaki Naruto name to the village and the shinobi world, I think it is best that you keep your name as it is unless you want to change which I will much be happy to comply"

"Just kidding, just kidding. You don't have to take it so seriously, dattebayo."

"For tonight, let stay here. You two are both tired. Hinata, stay in your room, and Naruto can have the guest room. Tomorrow you can begin to move your stuffs."

* * *

><p>"Your father is not as half bad as bachan said"<p>

"What did she say, Naruto-kun?"

"Nothing much. Um, goodnight, I guess"

"Goodnight Naruto-kun"

* * *

><p>"Hiashi-sama"<p>

"Neji huh. What brings you to this late an hour?"

"Hiashi-sama. Please cancel this whole marriage. It serves its purpose long enough. What would happen if the morron touches Hinata-sama? And without us around to watch them, who know what he is going to do with the sweet innocent..."

"Enough. I am even more worried than you are. But that man is a true moron. I doubt he has the knowledge nor the gut to do anything significant. Beside, everyone knows about the wedding, we cannot back out now. The reason that I choose him is because of his stupidity, Hinata can be safe for now, and if anything happen we can always interfere and sway it the way we want. Therefore, keep a close watch on them"

" But Hiashi-sama, I saw him holding Hinata-sama' hands today. Even if he is the biggest moron of all time, how can we be sure that he can resist her. No one, morons or what could resist Hinata-sama charm when they are close to her"

"But I see you are doing a good job on that. You overestimate him. Like I say, even if he is attracted to her, he wouldn't know what to do. And beside, I have you right? I know you will do a good job to make sure NOTHING WILL EVER HAPPEN BETWEEN THEM."

"Hai, Hiashi-sama"

* * *

><p>"Tsunade-sama. You drink enough. There is nothing good ever come from your drinking. If it is not because you were drunk, we would not be in such a mess in the first place."<p>

"But we are officially out of it now, right, Shizune? Shouldn't we have a little celebration in the process."

"Tsunade-sama. NO DRINKING. Don't you feel even a little sorry for Naruto?"

"Naruto is such a lucky charm, huh. And who is saying that nothing good ever comes from my drinking? Don't we have Naruto as my slave when I was drunk? And he always helps me to clean my mess. Such a good child, and a lucky one too. I have win a lot of bet on his performances on the missions. But now noone ever dares to bet with me anymore. Maybe we should use him to bet on something more interesting."

"Tsunade-sama, don't use Naruto anymore. Consider the consequences a little bit. What will happen if people know. Your reputation and career is at stake here. And the poor child, he deserves better. Don't you feel a little bit guilty for what you did to the poor Naruto?"

"What are you talking about? First of all, people would not care. They need me as a Hokage since no one would be stupid enough to take my place. Second of all, would you seriously think that I will do something to harm him. Hinata is just a right person for him, believe me. Now it is up to him to find his happiness."

"Oh, Tusnade-sama, forgive me for my ignorance. I know you wouldn't do something without a good reason".

"Hum. It is good that you are understand. However, I will never forgive for what Hiashi did. Set me up like that. No one has ever dared to trick me into something I don't like."

"Um, but Tsunade-sama, you seem to enjoy this very much"

"Ahem. Anyway, we need to form a plan to retaliate. Get me as much information as you can on Hiashi and the Hyuuga."


	5. What is behind this marriage? The answer

**A/N:** So this is the new chapter, I especially like this one, so I hope you all enjoy it. Can't wait for your responses. With this chapter I hope all the puzzles are cleared, although I have added more puzzles ;D (can't stop myself, ideas just keep coming, so there we are, but at least all questions about the wedding are answered).

Thank you for those who read and review, your encouragements have helped me a lot in continuing this story. Also, it might take me for a while to update, I have not started on chapter 6 yet since I still wait for more votes on how the story should progress. We have a tie now between having Sasuke as a minor role v.s him as a slight/humorous villain. Because for chapter 6, I need Sasuke, so still wait on how I should portray him. However, the good new is this story will stay Romance/humor and will have an happy ending with Naruhina all the way to the end.

Check my profile for update, vote, and more.

(6/3/11)

**Disclaim**: I love Naruto, I adore Naruto, but one thing I can't have is Naruto.

* * *

><p>'Thank Kami, for making my cousin- in-law an idiot'<p>

As Neji watched the couple in their house, he had to admit that Hiashi-sama was right. There was nothing to worry about Naruto. After helping Hinata to move her stuffs into the house, Naruto had offered Hinata to sleep in the bed while he slept in his bed-bag. The next day they got rid of the bed and bought two futons instead which helped to save space since the house was too small for two beds. Neji nodded with great satisfaction when he recalled the couple's routine in the last week. Naruto and Hinata would get up at the same time, say good morning to each other. Hinata would prepare breakfast which was always ramen while Naruto taking the futons off to the closet and taking off the trash. They then would take a small walk around the village before heading to the training ground and began to train together before heading off to Ichiraku for lunch. Usually in the afternoon, they were gonna stay home together, just talking, or going out for more training and meeting up with friends. Then Hinata would prepare dinner while Naruto cleaning the house and taking a bath. After dinner, they would either go out for a nice walk or just stay home and talk until they went to sleep.

That stupid moron had done absolutely nothing romantic with his sweet cousin. He also kept the physical contacts to a minimum except with some occasions holding her hands which made Neji blood boiling like crazy. But except from that, there was none any other romantic gestures or contacts between them. They were much more like brother and sister than husband and wife. It would be nice for Neji if they could keep this up for the rest of their lives. Hiashi-sama was right after all, this whole marriage thing might not be so bad. Although Neji did wonder how it could be possible for Naruto to not be attracted to Hinata while he was so close to her for such a long time. Any man could force themselves on her after they were seeing her out of the bathroom in her cute pajima, she looked absolutely irresistible when she was running her hand over her wet hair, her eyes were clear like pearl, and her lips were... That's enough, it is too much for Neji to handle. Anyway there were only three possible answers for this abnormal behavior. Number one, like Hiashi-sama said, he was a true morron; number two, he was gay; number three, he was deeply in love with another girl.

Neji hoped it was not number three though. Neji was not blind especially when it was about his cousin. It pained him to no end whenever he saw the shine in her eyes when she looked at Naruto, her face brightened whenever Naruto talked to her or smiled at her. That look in her eyes, it was like Naruto was the whole world for her, that being with him alone was the best thing had ever happened to her. Neji never saw her smile like this before. This smile was so pure, so beautiful and full with happiness that it made his heart ache, he could do anything anything to make her smile at him like that...

'But then again, Kami-sama, thank you very much for making my cousin-in-law a moron'

* * *

><p>AN: Don't thank Kami-sama so early, Neji, not until you see what happen next.

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Hinata"<p>

"Good morning, Naruto-kun"

Naruto smiled as Hinata. It was so nice to have someone near you and to say "good morning" with them every morning. He was so used with seeing Hinata every time he opened his eyes in the morning that a flood of fear swept through his whole body when he thought of how would it felt if he would no longer be able to see her like this. He was drawn completely by her smiling face, her shinning eyes, and her sweet voice that every time he waked up he found himself longing to see her face again, to hear her calling his name, to smell the scent of her body, to know that she was near to him. If he would no longer be able to be with her like this, he would...This fear, it was not the first time he felt this fear. He knew very well the feeling of losing someone important to him. He knew as a shinobi, it was something he had to deal with. Shinobi's death was not something uncommon. That was why he had to treasure this moment. He was not a coward who ran away from his fear.

"Hinata"

"Yes, Naruto-kun"

"Let me make breakfast for today. I will make some red bean soup for you, I know it is your favorite food. I also bought some cinnamon rolls yesterday, so we can have it too"

"But, Naruto-kun. I know you like ramen. You don't have to worry about me."

"You know that I also like red been soup, right? I guess we do have a lot in common. Beside, you like cinnamon rolls, so I also want to try it. I am sure if you like it, I will like it"

"But you don't have to make breakfast, I can..."

"I want to do it. Who say that it is your duty to cook? And beside I want to make something for you, to try my cooking, you know. Unless you don't like it."

"No, I like it very much. I...I just feel very happy now, that I don't know what to say..."

Naruto put a finger on her lips and smiled at her.

"Then, you don't need to say anything else. Let's try Uzumaki Naruto cook."

"Hai"

"You know, it is unfortunate that we will not have more time together from now on. I have to meet bachan today for a new mission. It seems like our vacation is over"

"It's ok Naruto-kun. It's not like we will not see each other anymore. I'm sure you will be done with your mission soon enough."

"You don't know bachan. She usually assigns me missions after missions so I don't know this time she will keep me out of the village for how long."

"It's ok Naruto-kun. I'm sure Tsunade-sama could be very understandable. I also have missions and training with Neji-nisan. And beside, I...I don't mind waiting for you, no...no matter how long it will take..."

Naruto suddenly felt an urge to be close to Hinata, to show her his feelings, his gratitudes. He leaned closer and placed a kiss her on her cheek.

"BUMPS"

The door was flying through the room and landed on the kitchen table, revealing a very piss off Neji.

"Hey, Neji. What's wrong with you lately? Have some sympathy with your poor friend a little, will you? It's not like bachan pay me anything for most of my missions. And where could I get the money to pay for both the door and the table? Hey what are you doing? Where are you going with Hinata? Hey, hold on."

"It seems like your little vacation is over. Hinata has training with me, very important training"

With that Neji led Hinata out of the house, leaving the poor Naruto alone, confused and troubled in his new financial crisis. He opened his Gama-chan and calculated in his head how many ramen he had to miss from Ichiraku to pay off for his door and table.

* * *

><p>"Neji-nisan, It's hurt. My hand, you don't need to hold it so tightly."<p>

"….."

"Nisan, please"

"Do you know how important this training means to our future, Hinata?"

"Of course I know, but I don't understand. What's the problem?"

"Being so close with Uzumaki Naruto is the problem."

"But we didn't do anything, I swear, Nisan"

"I can't be so sure with what just happen now."

"I have been taken by surprise too, and beside it is not a big deal. Just a kiss on the cheek. *Blush*"

"Just a kiss on the cheek? Do you know why I have to kick every man ass who try to be near you for the past two years? That is so you will not be in contact physically with any man. You know how important is it to keep your mind and body pure for this training."

"But I am married, nisan. I don't know if we should continue our training. It could be impossible..."

"This marriage is just for show. It is designed so that no man will dare to get close to you, and Uzumaki Naruto is supposed to be a moron who would never in any way touch you."

"That's terrible. That's not what Otou-san told me"

"You are not blind, don't you? You know very well that Naruto is not in love with you. Would you really believe what Hiashi-sama said about Naruto was crazily in love with you that he begged for this marriage? You are just lying to yourselves. I don't want you to get hurt. I can see you falling deeper and deeper to him by the day, but don't create an illusion for yourselves, you know what is important to you, right. Are your resolves strong enough? Do you want to continue this training?"

Hinata's eyes were covered in tears, but she nodded, unable to stop her sobbing. Neji felt like hundred thousand of knives stabbing him when he was seeing Hinata like this, but it was for the best that she was aware of Naruto feelings. Shinobi should not fall in love, there were much more important things in life other than love. Beside, although he felt very guilty, he could not bring himself to tell Hinata the whole truth behind her marriage. It was a big mistake on Hiashi-sama part.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback:<em>

_Neji had a bad feeling when two distant relatives of Hiashi-sama came that morning. He sat quietly, listening to their conversation. A very boring conversation at first._

"_It's been a long time huh Hiashi?"_

"_Indeed."_

"_You are still a quited fellow huh, that's why you could never find a girlfriend when we were young. I knew you were very jealous of me with all of the girls throwing themselves on me. I guess physical appearance does matter huh."_

"_What brings you to Konoha?"_

"_Oh, you know, I have a daughter, and like me she is a very attractive young girl. She just turned sixteen six month ago but there were countless suitors surrounding her all day just to get a glance of her adorable face. I told my daughter she was too young for dating and she should keep her distant with all men for now. It had been such a nag to keep such fine young men out of our house. But then one day a young man who just became the Minister of Defense from the Land of Fire asked me to take her hand in marriage. He was a very talented young man whose future would be as bright as the sun, and my daughter was very fond of him, so who am I to refuse such offer and deny my daughter happiness? I and my son here just attended their wedding a few day ago, and I thought while we were still in the Land of Fire, why not give my old friend a visit?"_

"_Good for you"_

"_Talking of that. How old is your eldest daughter, now?"_

"_Hum, 18, ahem, turn 19 in a few months"_

"_Wow, time sure flies huh"_

"_..."_

"_I'm sure a young girl like her has many suitors, does she yet have an boyfriend?"_

"_..."_

"_Oh, I see. You don't have to feel shame, Hiashi. It's not like every girl could be as fortune my daughter. I have many time thanked Kami-sama to give her such a gift, blessing her to look exactly like me. Like father like daughter. I'm sure with your family wealth and power you will find your daughter someone soon, like way you get your wife. Don't worry Hiashi, actually, physical attraction does not matter that much."_

"_..."_

'_This distant relative sure knew how to make Hiashi-sama pissed'_

_This was when the son of the distant relative came to the room with a photo of the Konoha 11._

"_Father. Look at this. Look at this."_

"_Show some manner, won't you?"_

"_Hiashi-sama. I'm sorry for my sudden outburst. But father look at this picture, it is Uzumaki Naruto"_

"_Uh?"_

"_You know. The Uzumaki Naruto, Hero of the Fourth Shinobi War. He is rumored to be the strongest shinobi in this whole world, a man who is loved and admired by many, the one who has a lot of connections and influences through out the shinobi world."_

"_Oh so he is the man that you young people keep talking about all of these days. The problem of being a hero and having such qualities is that he would never find someone worthy enough to be his partner. And, just out of curiosity, how can you get this photo, Hiashi?"_

"_My daughter is in there."_

"_Oh, I see. May I ask what is the relation between him and your daughter?"_

"_... They are to be married in one week."_

_The father and son and Neji sat dumbfound, mouths wide opened, looking in disbelief at Hiashi. Neji could not believe this, was Hiashi-sama out of his mind?_

"_Oh, but I thought that your daughter did even have a boyfriend?"_

"_I never say so."_

"_And I didn't see any sign of a wedding coming up"_

"_The Hyuuga is a noble clan, we have no problem in preparing a wedding in a few day, so why have to hurry up the process?"_

"_If so, do you mind if we stay for your daughter wedding?"_

"_..."_

"_I can't believe you are not telling your old friend sooner about your daughter marriage, and now you don't even want to invite me to your daughter wedding. Even if you are always jealous of me, I always see you as one of my best friends. Actually, I begin to doubt if there will be a wedding..."_

"_Fine. Suit yourselve."_

* * *

><p><em>Three days had passed since the fated meeting, and although Hiashi-sama had used up all of his wits trying to make the evil distant relative leave, he was nowhere close to his goal. To make the matter worse, the evil distant relative kept asking about the wedding, and out of frustration, Hiashi-sama had ordered everyone in the Hyuuga clan to prepare for "the wedding". Even Neji felt desperated for Hiashi-sama. Hiashi-sama, on the other hand, still kept his face as neutral when he called Neji to his study.<em>

"_Hiashi-sama."_

"_Neji, you did told me something before about a contract between Hokage-sama and Naruto, right?"_

"_I'm not sure about this information, it is just something I overheard in the Hokage Tower"_

"_Tell me more of it"_

"_It seems like Naruto is in a contract to be a personal slave for Tsunade-sama"_

"_That explains a lot of thing."_

"_You know how to play poker, right? Tell me about the rules this instant."_

* * *

><p>"<em>You are sure a quick learner, Hiashi-sama"<em>

"_It is not as difficult as I think it is. Let's go Neji."_

"_To where Hiashi-sama?"_

"_To the bar, of course"_

"_I am not yet reach the age to drink, Hiashi-sama. I still have to wait for a few month."_

"_I never ask you to drink. But I need you as a witness."_

"_Witness?"_

"_Let's go, we don't have a lot of time"_

* * *

><p><em>At the bar, they encountered Tsunade who just sneaked out from the Hokage Office to get a drink<em>

"_Oh, man. Shizune is so strict these days. She discovers all the sakes I hide in the office, and forbids me to even try one glass. Who does she think she is? Hey, get me another drink."_

_As Hiashi was about to approach the Hokage, Neji stopped him_

"_Hiashi-sama, what are you doing?"_

"_To play a poker game with Tsunade, what's else."_

"_But you just learn the rule, you have not even played one game yet."_

"_Knowing the rule is enough, why do I have to learn more? She is the legendary sucker after all, there is no way I could lose. Watch this closely, and ask others to join too."_

"_Hokage-sama, what's a coincidence."_

"_Uh, oh it's just you, Hiashi. I don't know that you also like to drink. I never see you in the bar before."_

"_I have too much stresses as a head of a clan, I figure a little fun would not harm."_

"_You're right. We, leaders, have too much responsibilities, but people never understand, especially our assistants. I don't know why we need them in the first place. All they could do is fathering us and annoying us to no end."_

"_May be a little game of poker would lighten your spirit a bit?"_

"_Oh, Hiashi, I don't know that you are also interested in poker?"_

"_I just learned it recently, So I might need your help to understand it better. To make it more interesting, why don't we have a little bet for this game?"_

"_Uhm what's kind of bet?"_

"_Something like if I lose to you I will pay off all of your debts, but if you lose you have to do one thing for me."_

"_What is this one thing you want?"_

"_It would not be fun to tell you now, wouldn't it? I'm sure it is not something that a great Hokage like you can not do. In fact, I doubt that there is anything in this world that you are unable to do."_

"Uhhuh, you _'re right. Uhhuh"_

"_Hokage-sama, let put our pride as a shinobi and as a gambler on this game."_

"_You are right. It's much more fun to have our pride at stake for a bet, isn't it? Gamble is the best."_

_And with that, Tsunade-sama lost the game to Hiashi-sama._

"_Cheezz. You are just lucky this time. Do you want to try another game?"_

"_No, thank you, Hokkage-sama, I had a lot of fun, but I afraid I have to take my leave. It is too late, now."_

"_Huh, you are no fun. So what is this that you want, Hiashi?"_

"_I'll tell you tomorrow in your office. Good night, Tsunade-sama."_

_And that was how Naruto ended up marry to Hinata in just one week, no, to be more precisely in four days. _

* * *

><p>If Neji knew what would happen he would never let the evil distant relative of Hiashi-sama and his stupid son stepped one step into the Hyuuga household. What done was done. What was crucial now was to keep Naruto away from Hinata, which could be more difficult than originally planned. It seemed like Naruto had begun to held some romantic feelings toward his little cousin, but he would not lose to Naruto, not on this one, not his cousin.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Like all of you I just want Naruto to fall in love with Hinata already, but making it too fast will not make sense and make the story less interesting. However, in this chapter, I want Naruto to have some feelings and express it to Hinata. Please let me know if his feelings toward Hinata progress too fast or if any in their scenes together at the beginning of this chapter do not make sense. Is his feelings toward Hinata believable?


	6. Golden advises from Otouchan

**A/N:** So here is the long awaited chapter. Not much to say, don't want to spoil the fun. Just enjoy the story and tell me what you think.

Also, check my profile, I do update my profile regularly, and you might find something useful in there.

Thank you for those who read and review. It is because of the warm and encouragement of your feedback that I want to write more and share it with you guys. Also thanks for those who fav and alter, I'm happy that there are people who like the stories and waiting to read more. Because of all that, I will do my best to improve my story.

**Disclaim:** Does Naruto fall in love with Hinata? Are they dating? Will they get married? Does Naruto have a lot of screen time in the series? Does Hinata have a lot of screen time in the series? Do they have a lot of screen time together? If not, I definitely do not own Naruto.

(6/10/11)

* * *

><p>"Bachan, please. I just want to spend more time with Hinata, since we just marry and all. I don't want her to feel lonely."<p>

"Huh, how ironic, before you beg me for more difficult missions, now you ask me for less."

"Not totally. I just ask you to assign me a S-mission or A-mission at one time, not 20 or 30 all at once, and allowing me to take breaks between missions."

"But then you are just gonna take less than a day to finish it, isn't it such a waste? We can save much more time and earn much more money if you do them continuously. Ok ok, don't look at me with that eyes. I already give you a week vacation, no mission, do you know how much money I make less? Here I am, being so nice with you, saving special missions just for you, and you continue to nag me to no end."

"I do not say that I will not do them, I just say you could arrange it to a way that I can do all missions and can still have some time for Hinata."

"Then just bring her with you in the missions. On the second thought, that will not work. We are in shortage of shinobi here. First is the destroy of the whole village, and then the shinobi war. It has been two years but thing has not brighten up much, we have to do something to quickly reproduce new shinobi. You and Hinata should have babies already, helping the village a bit, will you? Huh, Ok, for the future of the village, I will sacrifice my rightful personal businesses and allow you to have more time with your wife. 10 S-rank missions a month, you can do anything you like, take as many break as you please as long as you finish 10 missions a month. Deal? One condition, in exchange, you have to produce at least 10 babies for the village."

"Wow, 10 babies sure are a lot."

"Not at all, you really don't understand anything about marriage, do you? 10 is just a very humble number. We are shinobi, we can do much better, and shinobi like yourselves and Hinata can reach to number 100 easily, considered your stamina and her body. But I will be a nice baabaa and only ask for 10. Just remember, from now on, don't use any protection, ok?"

"Protection? What is protection?"

"Oh, I see. So you are already in the process of making babies. Good job. You don't have worry about it then, forget it. I can't wait to see your babies. I have so much to teach them, to make them great shinobies like I am."

"Oh, I also want to ask you for another favor. Neji just blew my table and my door away, and I am in a financial crisis now, I don't know if you could give me some bonus for my hard work..."

"Your hard work? I am the only one who really work here, and you people never understand. You only have to do some petty missions while I have to oversee the whole village. If I am in your position, I could finish 50 S-rank missions in no time. And why do you need money to buy table and door? Don't we have Yamato?"

"Oh, I see. You are such a genius, bachan."

"Naruto, you are my successor, you have to learn to be more like me. Your weakness is that you are too navie. That's why I am always tricky with you so that you could learn between truth and lies. I know you are not a person that people could easily manipulate or take advantage of, and you have friends and comrades who are loyal to you and would protect you at all cost. But if you are to be Hokage, you have to be stronger and smarter, learning who are friends and who are foes.. And don't trust people too easily. Be careful of Hiashi, he is not a person to mess with."

"Otou-chan? He is not as bad as you say he is. Talking of that, he asks me and Hinata to have dinner with him every Saturday, today will be our first dinner. Finally, I could have a family dinner, I'm very excited."

'Otou-chan? This child...thinking everyone as friends and family. Too pure. It seems like nothing I say could get into his ear now. Having more experiences and maybe he would understand.'

"Good for you. Enjoy your dinner, and remember the favors I do for you."

"Thank you, bachan."

"One more thing. Why did Neji blow your table and door? He does not seem to be a person who could act so recklessly. What did you do to him?"

"I don't know what is wrong with him lately. I didn't do anything, he just came from nowhere and destroyed both my table and my door."

"Huh, let's see. What did you do right before that?"

"I *blush*...I...just k-kissed H-Hinata on the cheek...I...*blush*..."

"Enough. Your marriage life is the least of my interest now. But keep this up and make more babies. You can go now, and remember to use this time for something productive .*hint, hint*"

XxXxXx

"Shizunue"

"..."

"Shizunue"

"Sorry Tsunade-sama. I'm thinking what I should teach to Naruto's children."

"That child still has a long way to go, but to think of him as a father. *laugh uncontrollably*. Time sure flies, I should not think of him as a child anymore. However, to the main business, Neji behaviors are very questionable. From what Naruto tells me, I am sure that Hiashi asks Neji to keep an eye on the newly wed, and I want to know why. How does your investigation on the Hyuuga go?"

"Actually, Tsunade-sama, I just discover the reason why Hiashi wants the wedding so badly in such a short period of time. *tell the story*."

"That damn old man. How dare he puts his mistakes on my shoulder. Who do he think he is for tricking me into this whole mess just to save his pathetic pride? You have to pay, Hiashi, ten hundred time, no hundred hundreds times, thousand hundreds times what you done to me."

"Tsunade-sama, that..."

"Anyway, continue the investigation. Try to discover what behind Neji behaviors, that might be very helpful."

* * *

><p>"Hinata? Do you feel better?"<p>

"Hai, nisan. Don't worry about me, I can continue."

"Don't push yourselves too hard. Come sit here."

"But I want to continue. We almost get there."

"It's not good to hurry up thing. I am here, we can take this training as long as we want."

"Hai, I'm sorry."

"Hinata."

"Hai"

"I..."

"Yes, Neji-nisan"

"I just want to sorry for earlier. I don't mean to make you cry"

"I am the one who should say sorry, I should not have cried so easily, I am a shinobi after all, I guess I am still too weak."

"You are not weak. But there is something I have to tell you."

"Yes, nisan"

"I know I say this earlier, but don't fall for Naruto. Looking up to him is fine, admiring him and want to be like him is fine if it makes you stronger. Everyone in the village including myself looks up to Naruto, we try hard every day to be like him, to be strong enough so we could protect him and worth being his comrades. But love is different. Love makes people weak, and you might have heard this, but love leads to hate, hate leads to war. And you don't want to be a sick love girl in front of him right? Don't you want to be strong in his eyes? If so, don't love him, striking yourselves to be stronger, concentrating on your training. I just don't want you to get hurt, but if you fall in love, it is inevitable that you will get hurt. "

"I am not afraid to get hurt, if it means that I can be with him, I am not afraid of anything. And N-Naruto-kun, I know Naruto-kun would never hurt me Moreover, it is already too late...I...I already fall in love with him, deeply fall in love with him. I don't need him to love me back, I don't even need him to smile at me the same way he smiles at Sakura-san, I don't even need to be with him. I just want to see his face, see him smiling, see him happy, know that he will be fine. That, that is enough for me."

"Hinata."

Neji hold Hinata close to him, kissed on her forehead,

"Hinata, you baka. That idiot better be nice to you."

* * *

><p>.<p>

"Wow, Otou-chan. This dinner sure is fancy. You don't need to be so generous. We are fine with a normal meal, dattebayo"

"Fancy? What are you talking about? This is a normal meal. You begin to make me wonder what you get my daughter to eat at your house. I don't want her to be spoiled, but I don't want her to be starved either. Shinobi needs to have enough nutrition to fight."

Naruto looked down. He never thought of it, but his and Hinata world was different. She was from a noble and wealthy clan, and even if she was a shinobi, she was an elite shinobi, she now was a Jounin, while he was just a poor genin who didn't have enough money to buy his own table and door. Yes, he didn't take the chunin and therefore jounin exams because he had to work for bachan, he really didn't have time for it. And besides, no one asked him to take the exams anymore, even Shikimaru thought that those exams were too below his level, and he should concentrate on more important matters like making more allies for the Konoha and established securities and new rules for the Allies Forces. As a result, here he was, a poor gennin siting next to his wealthy jounin wife. A huge gap, and to think how much she had to bear to be his wife, living in a small house, too small for two people, eating ramen all day, and never had enough money to do anything.

Hinata put her hands on his and smiled at him. She was so beautiful, her smile was like the sun to him, so bright and pure.

"Otou-sama, I am very happy right now. Naruto-kun has been very nice to me. He has even cooked for me, my favorite meal."

"Oh, that's good to hear. I can see you are in a good marriage. But as new as you are, there is something I need to teach both of you, so you could maintain and make your marriage a happy one."

"Hai, Otou-sama."

"That's awesome, Otou-chan. It's good to have someone to guide us, I honestly don't know anything about marriage." *taking a note out*

"Ok, so first of all, marriage is a very scarce thing. You have to learn to respect and understand each other."

Both nodded eagerly, excitements in their eyes.

"And to do so, you have to restrain any physical contacts because physical contacts are what will destroy your relationship, hinder your ability to understand each other. Naruto, I know that you have kissed Hinata on her cheek. That will be the beginning for your marriage downfall. You should never repeat that mistake again. You should also restrain yourselves from holding her hands. Any desire to get close to each other will be the seed of your marriage's destruction."

"Sorry Otou-chan. I will never make that mistake again."

Resentments in his eyes as he looked as his respectful father-in-law, he then continued to take note while still listened intensively.

Hinata sighed in relief, so their marriage will not affect her training at all.

Neji nodded in great satisfaction. Hiashi-sama sure was a genius. He just wished Hiashi-sama could use haft of his wits now to prevent the marriage from happening in the first place.

"Otou-chan. I have one question."

"Go ahead, Naruto"

"You know how to *blush intensively* ….how we could make babies...I have promised bachan to make at least 10 babies in exchange to have more time with Hinata, so..." *face bright red*

Hinata felt like she was about to faint, 'Baby...baby with Naruto-kun'

Hiashi felt like he was just being slapped hard to his face. 'Baby, baby from my baby daughter. That's damn old woman, she had to pay for this, suggesting that idiot to make baby with my cute little daughter. And 10 of them. Oh, my poor baby, there is no way I will allow this to happen.'

Neji felt like there was cold water, very cold water pouring into his head. His heart stopped for a second. 'My H-Hinata, my little innocent cousin, having baby with that moron. I will die before that happen, actually I want to die now, but not before killing this idiot who want to make babies with my sweet innocent Hinata MY Hinata.'

Hinabi began to feel interested in the conversation. '10 babies, that is a lot, but it will be more fun with 10 babies around the house. But how do people make baby?'

"Ahem. Like I said, it is very important to keep no physical contacts, and the same apply to have a baby. To have a higher chance to have a baby, you should not touch each other at all."

"But it is sure weird, I have never heard of it before."

"Naruto, have anyone ever told you about how to be a husband, and how to have children?"

"No, I haven't. But I do see people kissing and all, so it might not be too unusual to...you know *blush*. Maybe it will be ok if I..."

"Don't even thing about it. Any married couple has their own secrets to nourish their love and you know ...having the fruit of an successful marriage. I intend to not spill this out, but since you are too eager to know, I'll tell you this."

Everyone in the table leaned closer to Hiashi.

"A lot of stupid people have give in to their own desire and do abominable thing like kissing and stuffs. But as I said before. such actions are what stain something as scarce and as pure as marriage. Those people have very little chance of having children, and much less of having smart ones. Do you want to have a lot of children who are as intelligent and talented as yourselves?"

Both nodded ferociously.

"So this is the tip. Do not follow others' stupidities, do not hold hand, or hug, or kiss of any kind, do not be in a narrow space with each other, do not even look into each other eyes for so long, if you do all of these, you will understand each other well, and from this understanding, a child will be born."

"Just like that. We don't need to do anything and a child will be born?"

"No, it is a very difficult thing to do. You will sometime have the desire to be close to each other, but if you give in to your desire, you future will be doom. Think about the future of your marriage and your healthy and intelligent children whenever you are about to do something stupid."

Still seeing the doubt in Naruto eyes, Hiashi continued

"Taking your master as an example. Do you know why Jiraya-sama never has a wife and much less a child?"

Naruto shook his head, was eager to learn more.

"That's because he was fooling around with too many girls, doing things like peeping and flirting. If you follow your master steps, your future will be the same. But now you have a wife, you don't want Hinata to live with you for the rest of her life without any children, do you? Taking another example, your sensei, Kakash. He is indeed a true man, and follows every step to have a successful marriage, but do you know why until now he still not have a partner, as handsome and talented as he is?"

Naruto continued to shake his head, curiosity evidenced in his eyes

"That is because he read Icha Icha. Once the mind is polluted by improper thinking, marriage will never come to you, and you will never be blessed with a child. Have you read Icha cha?

"I did read a draft of Ero Senin once but it was too boring that I gave up after a few pages"

'That's good, this child is too stupid to even understand Icha cha'

"That's good. Do you see the differences now? You have a wife, and they don't, despised the gap between their appearances as well as their minds and yours. To maintain the marriage, I suggest you never get your hand on Icha cha again."

"I would never do that. It is too boring after all."

"That's good. You are one step closer to become a father. One more caution though, don't listen to Hokage-sama."

"Why not? She sure has a lot of experience."

"I'm afraid not. No offense, but you know how old she is right, and she still...you know...alone. It is not good to listen to people who don't have experiences. It will lead you to the wrong way. I know you don't know a lot of people who have experiences in marriage, but you two always have me. I am here to support you all the way with your marriage. Go to me whenever you have doubts or hear something that contrast to my advices."

"Hai Otou-sama"

"Wow, thank you a lot, Otou-chan. I'll keep your golden advices deep in my head, I actually have a very detailed note here. I'll go home and review them several times so that I will never forget and make stupid mistakes like the one this morning. I'll promise you, Otou-chan that Hinata and I will do our best to give you 10 healthy, smart, and talented grandchildren that you could be proud of."

"G-good. T-that is very good to hear. Remember my advise well and you will have babies in no time"

XxXxXx

For a second, Neji seriously considered Hisashi-sama advises to his heart, making mental note to follow every words of the great men for his future uses. However, Neji was smarter than that, as a secretly devoted reader of Icha Icha for several years, Neji did know the secrets between men and women and have enough knowledge (although still lack of experiences) about what should really happen between husband and wife. And thank to Icha Icha, he would still able to maintain some of his genius existences for the next couple of centuries. However, the rest of the table would not be so lucky. Although Neji was grateful for Hiashi-sama from the bottom of his heart, he could not help but felt sorry for the old man future decedents. With the way that Hinata and Hinabi listened to every word their father pouring into their inexperienced ear, it was highly possible that Hiashi would not have any grandchildren, much less grand-grandchildren. In another word, the great blood of Hiashi-sama would stop right here, it was such a waste to not able to pass on some of his wits to the next generations. Neji mentally shook his head, and sighed in relief, it was good that he was able to regain his knowledge as quickly as possible before he too fell into the same fate as the three lambs in front of him.

* * *

><p>Four shinobies headed to Konoha with their full speed, the sun shined brightly on them. Three months and one week, it had been three months and one week since she last saw him, and every single day of that time she could not help but to wait impatiently to see him again, able to take a glance of his face, his bright blue eyes, his smile; the smile that was even brighter than the sun shining on them right now. She waited and waited, the last time she saw him she had not been able to even talk to him, but just seeing him was enough for her. How she missed his voices, the way he laughed, the way he ran his hand over his hair, how she was longing just to...She sighed, she was not worth to be with him. He was the sun while she was just a weak little cherry flower who did not even know her own feelings. Beside her was her childhood crush, the one that she thought she loved deeply, the one that she thought was mean to be with her, the one that she thought was the only one for her. He was now the one that she realized she could not love. She had tried very hard for the past two year to love him, to reconfirm her feelings to him, but none was working. Yes, she did have feelings for him even until now, she did want to help him and make him happy, she did try to understand him better, to love him for the man he was.<p>

But compared to her sun...She could not help but to smile every time she met him, could not stop to look into his blue eyes, could not help but to want to be close to him, having more time with him, listening to his voices, everything everything that she did with him made she feel very happy. His existence alone brought her hope, happiness, and the strength to go on, to become a strong shinobi she was today. Was this possible for her to meet him again, today, even just for a little bit? Could her little wish become true just for this one time?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So, what do you think?

A lot was going on, but finally I could post this chapter. I edited myself, but I promise the next chapter will be reviewed by a beta. Tell me if it is too shabby and I will try to proofread it again.

Also for those who care, the vote resulted in Sasuke having a minor role, so the story will remain Romance/Humor with a very happy ending (I hope). I'm not very good with humor, always consider it a difficult genre to write, but I'll try my best to make this a humor story until the end. Tell me if the humor works and just not some lame/dry jokes.


	7. The beginning of a war?

**A/N: **A pretty short chapter, I use this to set up stages for next chapters as well as the climax. The next chapter will be long and pretty intense with lot of Naruhina (hopefully). So think of this as a break.

Enjoy the story, and tell me what you think.

Thank you for those who read, favor, alert, and especially review this story. Any constructive criticism is welcomed.

(Original posted 6/16/2011)

**Disclaim: **Why do people still disclaim why everyone know who Naruto is belonging to?

* * *

><p>"Kakashi-sensei, hold on"<p>

"What's up Sakura? We are at the village now, we need to hurry up and report to Hokage-sama."

"I just saw Neji-san on the tree next to Naruto's house. I don't know...maybe...maybe he has come back, and I just want to know what is going on. Don't you think it is weird that Tsunade-sama assigned all four of us to a B-rank mission that surprisingly took almost a week to finish? And why is Neji-san spying around Naruto's house. Maybe we should take a look at it first?"

"Ok. But just take a quick look, I really want to go home and rest, so we better get that report done soon."

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

Sakura knocked the door, her heart beating fast, she had the feelings that he had come back. Finally, finally she could meet him again.

"Sakura-san?"

Sakura shook her head, looking at the outlook of the house. These trees, these walls, these windows, the door, and Hinata? She looked around the house again. The trees, check. The wall color, check. The window, check. The roof, check. The bench in the front, check. The door, double check. Hinata, triple triple uncheck.

'Oh, I see, maybe Hinata-san just takes a visit to his house.'

Even so, her heart squeezed lightly at the thought of how closely those two had gotten when she was not here. Since when did Hinata have the courage to go to Naruto's house and visit him?

"Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, Sai. What a surprise. Come inside, I have a lot to tell all of you."

"Yo, Naruto, good that you return to the village. But maybe we should talk later, I really need to give Hokage-sama the report."

"Hey, don't you have the bunshins? Let them do the work. It's not that important that you have to do it yourselves right?"

"I see. You are right. When did you become so..."

"Hehe. I'm just trying to be more like Bachan; trying to take advantage of things that we could."

"Ok, alright. Sakura, Sai, Sasuke, each have a clone to report back to Tsunade-sama"

Naruto closed the door, as the four clones headed at full speed to the Hokage Tower.

"Sorry, that the house is so small. Let me take more chairs from my bunshins"

So he made three more bunshins and transformed them into chairs.

"Oh, that sure feels weird, to sit on you that is." Kakashi said

"No, just think of them as chairs. They are chairs, no more no less, dayttebayo."

"Anyway, nice table, I see you have changed your house a bit." The perverted teacher added while looking around.

"That's from Yamato-taicho. He helped me repair the door, too, but I said I wanted to change my table design a little, so he made me a new one."

"Ano, here is the tea. I hope everyone like it."

"Thank you, Hinata. You don't have to. It smelled really good. You are really an expert of tea making, aren't you?"

"That's right, Kakashi-sensei. Hinata's tea is the best. You guys are very lucky to have a chance to try her tea, dattebayo."

"Thank you, Hinata-san."

"Hum"

"Thank you, Hinata-san. You should have me helped you. How nice of you to come and visit Naruto."

Both Naruto and Hinata blushed.

"Sakura-chan. Does bachan tell you about us yet?

"Us? What do you mean by us?"

"W-w-we-we are married. Hinata and I. We are husband and wife now, so now Hinata lives in this house with me."

XxXxXx

Kakashi: 'Marriage? Interesting, but I'd rather go home and read Icha Icha than listening to his marriage life.'

Sai: 'Marriage? Let's see.' *opened a book*. 'Marriage is the process in which two people marry each other.' 'What is marry?' *filtered through the page* 'Marry is when two people perform the marriage ceremony''That does not even help'. *opened another book*. 'Marriage is when two people join their soul and body to become one' 'How could you do that?' *opened another book* 'Marriage is the result of love, to unite two souls and from that creates new and better souls' 'What are they talking about?' *open yet another book* 'Marriage is simply the tool of society to maintain mankind. But up to today it is the most useless and inefficient tool of all time. All what it could do is to trap people in their own stupidities under the mask of love, keeping people confine from their own freedom, and creating infinite chaos and frustrations for the rest of their lives.' 'Oh, I see; seem like something Naruto could do. But even if it's Naruto, why does he want to get himself into something as terrible as marriage?"

Sasuke: …...*searching*...*continue searching*...A/N: sorry guys, I have tried my best to search into Sasuke's mind on the matter, but I have no idea what he is thinking. Maybe he is not thinking about anything in particular at all.

Sakura: 'Marriage? Naruto and Hinata...'

XxXxXx

"Congratulation, you two. Now, if you don't mind, I just remembered I have a very important business that I need..."

"Kakashi-sensei, you liar. You just want to sneak out and read Icha Icha, don't you? How could you be so heartless, and here I hope that you will show more joy for your student happiness?"

"Sorry, sorry, have fun you two. But before I go, Naruto, do you want to borrow Icha Icha and polish your skills a little?"

"No, definitely not, I have to be a good husband, and to perform my duty well, I should not pollute my mind with _that, _if I want to...Hey hold on Kakashi-sensei."

"Bye all. Have fun. See you"

XxXxXx

"Naruto-kun, why are you getting yourselves into something like marriage?"

"Um, well, I don't even know myself, because it's fun, I guess."

'Naruto, you hentai, so that is the reason why you marry Hinata. I should not worry about you after all. You sickness pervert. Maybe one or more punches could help to pull all of the pervert thoughts out of little your mind'

"Fun, but it does not seem like it to me in the book."

"Sai, listen to me. Marriage is a very very scarce thing. You have to be very careful with it, you should not listen to any imprudent advises, reading any improper books, one misstep and you might be alone for the rest of your life, never blessing with children."

"Oh, I see, thank you Naruto. *took out a note and wrote down very words Naruto said*. If you have time please tell me more about marriage."

"Sure, I am a very experienced husband now. Come to me whenever you need help, but maybe at some later time. Hinata and I are very busy right now with our big plan to have a lot of children, at least 10 of them. There is a lot to be done. First, we should not..."

"Naruto, you baka"

With that Sakura punched Naruto, sending him flying right onto the table, breaking it into half, and left with smok on her head. She took the confused Sai with her, angered beyond words.

"Hey Sakura-chan. Wait. What is wrong with people lately, why my table? I only broke Bachan's desk once and have my table broke twice. Bachan is indeed scary, she must have some special spells to punish whoever dare to go against her. Now, I have to bride Yamato taicho with another expensive meal, I don't know if it is cheaper just to buy the table"

"Naruto-kun. M-maybe, I can help, I'd be happy make a meal for him and you know it's cheaper than eating out."

"Thank, Hinata. I'm sure he'd love it, your cooking is the best. I just hope he doesn't get addicted and come here every day"

"I'm sure he will not. Thank you for praising my cooking. *blush*"

'God, she is so cute, the way she blushes, how her cheek can be so pink. I wonder if it would feel the same if I kiss her again. Last time I did not have time to properly feel her skin yet...No, no, no. I cannot look at her for so long. For our future, for our children, I cannot give in now. Otou-chan is right, it is a very difficult thing to do.'

Then he realized there was another person in the room. Quickly used the Kyuubi chakra to check on Sasuke, he sighed in relief. Sasuke's chakra was very calm. In fact, it was too calm, there was no emotion, no feeling, nothing in particular. It was like his whole body was emptiness, but it was indeed Sasuke and not a bunshin. It was not too bad, though since it was not filled with anger and hate like before, Sasuke was improving; it might take some time for him to recover, but he would be fine, Naruto believed it.

"Teme, at least show some love for your best friend's happiness. You know, marriage is not..."

"Your happiness is none of my concern. And I don't have time to hear your ramblings in something as stupid. I'm leaving."

"Hey"

* * *

><p>This village had been too peaceful, it had been bathed in the sun for too long. Sasuke raised his hand, feeling the sun rays beginning to die out. Be more patient, just a little more, and there would be time when the darkness covered this whole village, allowing no more light to enter. But right now, endured a little longer, endured the sun a little longer, until the time finally come.<p>

XxXxXx

Why? Why did she punch him again? That idiot. Pervert. Idiot. Pervert. Idiot. She should not care about him anymore. She just wanted to have a normal meeting with him, talking to him, listening to his tales, telling him about her missions, about the village, not..not to see him with his new wife, and to punch him right into his face. Baka Naruto. She just destroyed yet another tree, but was no where near releasing all of her anger. And...sadness.. and... resentment. Why did he always make she angry and make want to punch him every time they met. Then she smiled, but he was the only one who could make her angry that way, the only one who could make her want to punch him that way. She leaned her back against the tree, Naruto, just being Naruto was fine, being the idiot was fine, too, as long as he was the only one she could punch, as long as she was the only one who could punch him. That was their bond. No one could sever that bond, not even his wife. But then, she put her head on her knee; but then, they, Naruto and Hinata would begin to form their own bond and have their own world that she could never interfere. They would have a new life, Naruto would have a different life that she could no longer be a part of. Naruto. She felt tears falling down her cheek, not being with Naruto was fine, seeing him with his wife was fine, but no longer be a part of his life was something she could not do.

* * *

><p>"Master, what is the meaning of this? Why Naruto is marrying Hinata? I know something's up"<p>

"Nothing is up. They are in love, and people who are in love get married eventually. You should follow their footsteps. Although I don't like Sasuke, I don't mind you marrying him either, the village is in serious shortage of shinobi and I have begun some plans to stock up some more. How about this, I give you the permission to marry Sasuke right away in exchange for five new shinobies from you guys? I know you cannot catch up to Naruto and Hinata standards, so I lower it a bit. Here is the marriage agreement, find Sasuke right away and nicely ask him to sign it, I don't mind give him two or three days off to heal up his bones, just don't beat him to death."

"Master!"

Face burning red, Sakura stomped out of the office.

"Hey, how about the marriage agreement?"

"Tsunade-sama, I don't think she has any intention of marrying the Uchiha.", Shizune sighed.

"I know, but I don't want to hear people nagging about the marriage any more. She is my favorite student, but she could be annoying sometimes. That's the only way to send her off. Now, let's go back to the main business, what's wrong with Neji?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama, it seems like Neji has developed some serious feelings toward Hinata. For the past two years he has kicked out any man within 15 feet near Hinata, regardless of their intentions."

"That's kind of strange. Is this some kind of bother complex?"

"More like he is obsessed with her, and the main reason could be because of their new ninjutsu. They are developing a new technique to enhance the Hyuuga juuken, if this technique is a success, they can triple the power of juuken and other Hyuuga techniques; in addition, they will have no blind spot and could double their chakra conserve. They are now in the process of adding healing effects into the jutsu so that they can heal faster and their chakra will automatically regenerate over time."

"Wow, such a powerful technique! They would be useful to Konoha, but I hate it when Hiashi and his clan become more powerful. But then again how does it affect Neji?"

"This justsu has some side effects. This technique requires two people to incorporate; to success, they have to clear their mind and in the case of a woman to have a pure body so that they can control the flow of their chakra precisely. If the body of the woman or I should say the girl is not pure, the flow of the chakra would get disrupted easily and be very difficult to control. Also, the two have to be prefect in niche and have their minds somewhat resonance so that they could control and support each other chakra flows, power up their technique and make their absolute defense even more difficult to be interfered or destroyed. For those reason, Neji has tried to prevent Hinata from getting into any kind of relationship or get close to any of the opposite sex, but at the same time their closeness during training sections and meditating together seem to affect Neji greatly, and makes him to...well...I don't know... have some feelings for her. Like he really thinks they are one and ...well she somehow belongs to him."

"What does Hiashi think of it?"

"I'm not sure if he is aware of Neji's feelings toward Hinata but he seems pleased enough with the training and encourage them to complete the technique in a due time."

"But, how about Hinata and Naruto' marriage?"

"Tsunade-sama, please don't be angry, but it seems like they have not consummated their marriage yet.."

"What? That idiot! Explain more clearly."

"It seems like Hiashi-sama has predicted Naruto's inexperience in *cough* becoming a husband in general, and has Neji watching the couple closely. Whenever there is any sign that they will get close together, Neji will intervene at full force. Plus, to ensure that Naruto will not give in to his instinct, Hiashi-sama has given them some...advises about marriage in which he told them not to get close to one another."

"BUMPS"

"Please be careful with the desk, Tsunade-sama, like you said, we are in a tight budget right now, and with Naruto reduceing his time during missions we really really need to be...you know..saving and reserving.."

"I gave him time to produce more shinobies for the village, not to become a spawn in Hiashi plans. Called him right away and let him return to his normal schedule."

"Tsunade-sama, how does that even help? Beside, Naruto seems to want to spend time with Hinata. The marriage is such a rush anyway, I think it's best for them to take thing slow.

"Huh, how is about Hiashi? I can't stand the way he has everything he wants, he has a powerful son-in-law to show off and strengthen his clan reputation while cleverly arranging it so that the said son-in-law would not touch a hair of his daughter so that she and his nephew could develop a powerful ninjutsu that will make his clan even stronger. Am I correct? That's damn old fox. Shizune, gather every single shinobi that you can get to the tower immediately; we will start a war against Hiashi now."

"What? War? Tsunade-sama, I'm sure we can find another way, it's not good to start a war because of your personal conflicts."

"NOW"

"Hai hai"

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Yes, War! Hooray. Do you really believe there will be a war in a romance/humor story? Hopefully this story will not stray too much from it's right path. Just kidding, I know what I am writing. I just try to experience different styles and ideas here since I really don't want to make a typical arrange marriage that everyone could find on the web.

This chapter has been beta-ed (reviewed by a beta).


	8. Tsunade vs Hiashi part 1

Disclaim: not own Naruto

6/29/11

* * *

><p>"Naruto-kun, have a safe trip."<p>

"Thank you, Hinata. Be careful, remember to lock the door every night and check the windows before you go sleep. I left Gama-chan on the table, make sure to eat properly, and don't worry about money; I have a lot and left enough for you to eat ramen for three months. Of course don't eat ramen every day; eat whatever you like, and..."

"Naruto-kun, I know, and beside I have my own money. You don't have to worry about me. Please, you sound like my father."

They both laughed, and Naruto ran his hand over his head.

"I'm such an idiot. If the house is too cold, make sure to tell Ba-chan and ask her for the heat, I'll pay her later."

"Naruto-kun. *giggle* "I'm a ninja, stop treating me like a child."

"I'm sorry, Hinata. I j-just, I just worry about you. I-I don't want to leave you, I-I"

Hinata put her finger on his lips, and leaned closer to put a light kiss on his cheek.

"Hinata, we are not allowed to do this, what'll happen if..."

"It's ok, Naruto-kun. Father told us to restrain physical contact, he didn't tell us to not have any contact at all."

Naruto laughed in embarrassment.

"Hehe. You are right, so is this ok i-if I r-return the favor."

Hinata's face was burning when Naruto pecked her lightly on her check, and her heart beat like crazy as she took out a small bag.

"Ano, N-naruto-kun. I made this for you."

"Hinata, is this a lucky charm?"

"A-actually it is a safe charm. I hope you will be safe and come home early."

Naruto kissed the charm and tied it with a string, putting it on his neck. He leaned closer and kissed her slightly on her forehead.

"Hinata, don't be so kind to me. I don't deserve you."

Hinata wrapped her hand around Naruto and put her head on his chest, not saying a word. They stayed like this for a while until a small wind blew over their hair, and made Hinata shiver slightly.

"You should go inside, it's getting cold, dattebayo."

Naruto's face suddenly turned red as he stuttered to Hinata

"H-Hinata, w-when I-I c-come b-back, willyougooutwithme?"

"Huh, what did you say Naruto-kun?"

"W-will w-will y-you go go o-out with me?"

"H-hai, h-ai, N-na-nar-na-naru-ru-to-kun, I-w-wo-would l-love to."

Hinata played with her fingers, her face bright red, and she insisted on looking at the ground. Looking at Hinata like this reminded him of the old Hinata. He smiled and his confidence returned.

"I mean, a real date. Since we live together and stuff, how about we have a date right after I am done with my mission? I would come home and wait for you somewhere in the village."

"I-if so, I'll wait for you at the gate when you come back and we can start our date from there."

"That's prefect. Bye, Hinata."

"Good bye, Naruto-kun."

Hinata smiled as the figure of Naruto faded in the sun. He was so bright, his smile alone could make her go blind, unable to see or feel anything else. She felt a twist in her heart. Before she thought that she loved Naruto, but she was wrong, those feelings she held for him before were nothing like this. This, she wondered, was this love, real love? Before, she admired him, she loved him more like a brother, someone she wanted to protect, someone to look up to, to follow. But this… This was different. He slowly became a part of her, a part of her life; someone that would be with her for the rest of her life, someone that she wanted to share everything with; her heart, her mind, her soul. Before, she thought that just being with him was more than enough for her, but now she realized she had become more selfish. She wanted him for her and her only. She wanted to know everything about him and wanted him to know everything about her. She shivered at her new discovery. She had become so selfish. It was her that didn't deserve to be with him. Someone as selfish, thinking only for herself, did not deserve to be with Naruto.

* * *

><p><strong>Tsunade's head quarter: Hokage tower, big hall<strong>

Commander: Tsunade, the great Hokage, rumored to be the most beautiful and strong kunoichi of all time. Added note: also extremely intelligent, but bad tempered and very impulsive.

Second in command: Shizune, her assistant, is said to be the very opposite of the great Hokage.

Army: (her special and not so special pawns could be very useful in the mean time)

Special Lieutenants: Anko, Kakashi, Gai, Iruka.

High level officers: Ino, Kiba, Shino, Lee, Tenten, Chouji, Sai

Lower pawns: shinobi #1 to shinibi #25, villager #1 to villager #50.

"Welcome, all, fellow shinobi and villagers. I call you to this emergency meeting because the village is on a brink of extinction. Our most precious possession," *cough* "I mean, the most precious hero, Uzumaki Naruto, who as you all know will be the next in line to guide the village, is in a very serious situation. As an extremely intelligent and talented man as he is, he has a lot of troubles in becoming an excellent husband; mostly because he has devoted all of his time for the future of the village and the shinobi world."

"What kind of problem Hokage-sama? As far as we know, they seem to be a very happy couple."

"Yes, they are a model couple for everyone to follow. However, I'll be frank with you; Uzumaki Naruto, like I said, has used all of his time for his career and has had no time to learn and understand the art of being a husband, or to be more frank, to become a man. He treats his wife like his sister, with all respect and love a husband could show to his wife, but if this continues, he could not contribute any fine shinobi, or shinobi of any kind for that matter, for the village. And as all of you might know, we are in a serious shortage of shinobi. And if any man in the village takes the great Uzumaki Naruto as their model like they always do, what will be the future of our village?"

The great Hokage took a thirty second break for people to absorb the information and enjoyed in secret their astonishing faces and concerned expressions.

"It is not only the problem of the village, but more importantly the happiness of Naruto. Do all of you want Naruto to be happy, for him to full fill his duty as a husband, and to have as many children as he deserves?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

"It is because of us that Naruto cannot fulfill his husband rights. Please let us know if we could do anything to help."

"Naruto deserves better than that."

"The couple is very cute. We have to help them."

"We are all looking for Naruto's children since he is married."

"But is this ok? Surely we should not interfere in his marriage life."

"That's right Hokage-sama; it is I who advised them to take things slow. Naruto is very smart and he will know what to do in the mean time until he is ready. Just give him some time. He will be fine; I'm sure of it."

"You are right, Iruka; if there is no interference and hidden motives to destroy their marriage, we do not need to be hurried, but according to my information there are people who are jealous of the happy couple and there are also people who do not want them to be together as husband and wife."

"What do you mean, Hokage-sama?"

"It is the top secret of the village but since this matter is also very urgency, I'll spill this out," *tells the story of the Hyuuga technique and Hiashi's advice to Naruto* "With this going on, no matter how much time passes, we will not see the results that we want. But I command you to keep this as a secret."

"That damn old man. How dare he do that to our Naruto?"

"That old fox."

"That selfish bastard old man, how could a father do something like that to his own daughter? Does he want any grandchildren at all?"

"Hokage-sama, let us kick that old Hiashi's ass, and rescue our little Naruto out of his spell."

"Hokage-sama, you just need to remove his position and put him to jail for the crime he did."

No one in the hall could read the great Hokage's expression, but if there was one word to describe her feelings, it is "great" "cool" "best". She had never felt better in her life. All she wanted to do was be in this hall for the rest of her life, listening to people insulting and badmouthing Hiashi to no end, but she was the great Hokage; she had to proceed to the main plan.

"That is enough, everyone. We have to understand the situation; there is no point in badmouthing Hiashi now. He will have to pay for what he did. But now, let's give Naruto all of the help that we can offer to make him become the happiest husband in this village."

All: "Count us in. We will do anything you say to help Naruto."

"Good," *tears in her eyes* "I'm so happy that there are many people willing to help Naruto. He is such a lucky child."

* * *

><p><strong>Hiashi's headquarter: Hyuuga mansion, Hiashi's small study room<strong>

Commander: Hyuuga Hisahi, Hyuuga clan leader, a very quiet man. No one really knows about his personality. From his previous appearances in this story, we can draw a conclusion that he is also a very intelligent man; no less intelligent that the Hokage.

Second in command: Hyuuga Neji, his nephew, resembles Hiashi in both appearance and personality.

Army: ...*ahem*...*ahem*... To be arrange in a due time.

"Hiashi-sama, it seems like Tsunade-sama has gathered her own army against us. We should do something; should I begin to recruit more members?"

"No need to do that, Neji, because four of us is enough."

"Four?"

Neji looked around the room, again and again and again.

"Enough. There are only two of us in the room."

"But you just said four. I wonder…"

"Two of us and Naruto and Hinata."

"I don't understand, Hiashi-sama."

"I don't need you to in the mean time; you will understand in time."

"But Hiashi-sama, how can two people go against the whole army of almost 100? According to my information, some of them are very fine shinobies including Kakashi and Gai. At least let me gather some Hyuugas and begin to form some plans for offense against..."

"I told you, we don't need more people. Two of us plus Naruto's stupidity and Hinata's naivety are more than enough to go against the stupid army of that damn old woman. This operation does not require fine shinobies. Don't you see the flaws in Tsunade' plans? What is the point of asking a bunch of idiots who have no experience whatsoever in marriage to help two idiots in their marriage? All that they can do is add more chaos and destroy the relationship even further. Don't you know that a third party intervene in a marriage is an absolute no no? Read this and carefully plan appropriate actions."

* * *

><p><strong>Hiashi's enemy analysis:<strong>

Moron #1: Tsunade, age 57. Occupation: Hokage. IQ: high. Social skills: high, has great talents in manipulating others. Number of dates: probably less than 5. Experiences in dating and relationships: not too bad but less than average. Never married. Potential cautions: high influences on Naruto and others. Level of danger: very high.

Moron #2: Shizune, age 34. Occupation: Hokage's assistant. IQ: a little bit above average. Social skills: average. Number of dates: zero. Experiences in dating and relationships: zero. Never married. Potential caution: has common sense, calm, might cause unexpected turn of events. Level of danger: low to average.

Moron #3: Mitarashi Anko, age 27. Occupation: Chunin examiner. IQ: a little bit above average. Social skills: have some social skills but very hyper; more of a trouble maker. Number of dates: unknown, but probably zero. Experiences in dating and relationships: unknown but highly is zero. Never married. Potential caution: trouble making, may make some stupid messes for us (Hiashi and Neji) to clean, has the potential to create highly unexpected and difficult situations to handle. Level of danger: low to high.

Moron #4: Hatake Kakashi, age 33. Occupation: Jounin. IQ: high. Social skills: lower than average, all he cares about is Icha Icha. Number of dates: zero. Experiences in dating and relationships: from low to average (since he has Icha Icha). Never married. Potential caution: Has some influences over Naruto; be careful not to let him show and teach Naruto about Icha Icha. Level of danger: low to average (since he isn't interested in anything but Icha Icha, he has no motivation to help Naruto) .

Moron #5: Yamanaka Ino, age 18. Occupation: Jounin. IQ: average. Social skills: pretty high; flirts with every boy that she meets. Number of dates: zero; believe it or not, this girl does not understand men at all. Experiences in dating and relationships: low. Never married. Potential caution: might influence Hinata and teach her to flirt with Naruto. Level of danger: low.

Moron #6: Inuzuka Kiba, age 18. Occupation: Jounin. IQ: way below average (the same as Naruto). Social skills: low to average (if you also count communication with dogs as social skills). Number of dates: zero. Experiences in dating and relationship: zero. Never married. Potential caution: none. Level of danger: from zero to low.

Moron #7: Aburame Shino, age 18. Occupation: Jounin. IQ: unknown, probably average or a little bit higher. Social skills: zero (even when you count communicate with bug as social skills). Number of dates: obviously zero. Experiences in dating and relationship: obviously zero. Never married. Potential caution: none. Level of danger: zero.

Moron #8: Rock Lee, age 18. Occupation: Jounin. IQ: way below average (probably lower than Naruto). Social skills: low; a weirdo who is very passionated but useless in social situation. Number of dates: zero. Experiences in dating and relationship: zero. Never married. Potential caution: none. Level of danger: zero.

Moron #9: Tenten, age 18. Occupation: Jounin. IQ: average or lower. Social skills: low (since you cannot count communication with weapon as social skills). Number of dates: zero; seriously who wants to date a weapon's master who would throw knives at them unexpectedly? Experiences in dating and relationship: zero. Never married. Potential caution: none. Level of danger: zero.

Moron #10: Sai, age 18. Occupation: ANBU special. IQ: potentially high. Social skills: below zero; this man needs some real pointers on EQ. Number of dates: zero; does he even know what "date" means? Experiences in dating and relationship: zero. Never married. Potential caution: none. Level of danger: zero. Additional note: the most useless member in the group. Why he is in this operation is beyond my ability to understand.

Moron #11: Akimichi Chouji, age 18. Occupation: Jounin. IQ: unknown; probably not higher than average. Social skills: very low; he might not have time to have friends and stuff since he is so busy eating. Number of dates: zero; unless you are a big fan of food. Why would you want to date someone eating nonstop all day? Experiences in dating and relationship: zero. Never married. Potential caution: none. Level of danger: zero.

Oh I forgot:

Moron #12: Gai Might, age 33. Occupation: Jounin. To be short, a double version of Lee.

Moron #13: Umino Iruka, age 29. Occupation: Jounin. IQ: a little bit higher than average. Social skills: high; has great common sense and cares for others. Number of dates: zero; sticking with kids all day probably hinders his chances to really find anyone. Experiences in dating and relationship: some. Never married. Potential caution: very high influence on Naruto; has high motivation to help Naruto. He could be one of the key pawns Tsunade uses against us. Level of danger: pretty high. Additional note: be extremely caution every time this man gets close to the couple.

* * *

><p>"Hiashi-sama, about your last note on Iruka-san; does it mean I only need to be cautious of him and not others?"<p>

"You only need to be cautious with anyone with the level of danger above average; namely Iruka, Anko, and probably Kakashi. I'll handle Tsunade. As for the rest, don't even bother; they could not do anything significant. For now, keep your eyes close on the couple; don't do anything unless in an emergency situation; try to keep them in the dark about our moves and actions. I'll give you some Hyuugas at your command, and contact me through this charm whenever the situation gets out of hand."

"But Hiashi-sama, what about the rest of the army? You only include in your report the special lieutenants and high level officers. How about the rest?"

"Those are just a bunch of useless pawns with IQ and level of danger even lower than the ones in the report. Why should I even care about them?"

"But there are a lot of them. And besides, many of them are married and certainly have experiences about relationship and stuff."

"If you don't have enough IQ or social skills to carry out the task, what is the point of having a lot of experiences? Besides, if you are Naruto or Hinata, will you listen to the advice of total strangers about intimate subjects in marriage? Furthermore, those people will be under command of the idiots in the reports; if the leader is incompetence, you should not worry much about their followers."

"But Hiashi-sama, there are a lot of them. I really don't think we could handle them all."

"You are worried too much. You don't need to handle them all; you don't even need to handle them at all; just watch them - no just watch the couple – and use your brain when the situation calls and contact me when it is necessary. That is all you need to do. Besides, I have eliminated the most dangerous threat; your job will not be that difficult."

"What do you mean, Hiashi-sama?"

"Kurenai. She is the only one who exceeds in all of the areas I indicated in the report; very experienced with high knowledge about relationships and dating plus having a lot of influences on Hinata, very smart and would care about the couple a lot."

"What did you do to her, Hiashi-sama?"

"I sent her away before the wedding by telling her that she the weather in the mountains is better for her son's well-being and introduce her a program that she could train her son in the Hidden Village of the Snow."

"Train her son? But he is only three at most."

"But his health is not very good, and his physical strength is very weak; the training and health program in the Hidden Village of the Snow would help to improve his well being tremendously and prepare him to be a true ninja as he grows up."

"So you planned all of this before hand; including the marriage?"

"Don't look at me with those eyes; I know you still resent me for the marriage, but no, I didn't plan the marriage at all. I would prefer to have my daughter decide her own future. However, Naruto is not a bad choice, and whether you like it or not she is in love with him. Returning to your question, I only planned to send her away after I intented to have the wedding."

"Hiashi-sama, sometimes I don't understand you. I don't even know if you approve of their marriage or not."

"When you become a father, you may understand. For now, just concentrate on dealing with Tsunade and her army."

* * *

><p>Naruto headed toward the village, his mind filled of concerns and confusion. Would Hinata be ok? Did she eat enough food? Was the house too cold? Was she bored? For the last two days, his mind was filled of concerns for Hinata. 'So this is what it like to have someone close to you, to have a wife,' he thought. He was also very confused about his feelings. He had never felt like this before. It was only two days but he felt like it had been months, or even years. He could not stop thinking about Hinata and it had been rather distracting. He could not focus and instead of one day it took him two days to finish his mission. He sighed; he did not know if it was a good thing to be distracted from work like this, but he missed her badly. He could not even sleep because he was afraid that if he slept he would dream of her and want to come back immediately, and then he was afraid that when he woke up and didn't saw her, he would go crazy and began to think all of the bad things that could happen. He was scared of his new feelings. He could feel that he began to change, but he did not know if those new feelings were a good thing or if he should change. His whole life had begun to shift, revolving around Hinata, but he did not know if he wanted it to happen; to change his life, to change who he was, to know only of Hinata and Hinata only.<p>

As he approached the gate, he could feel Hinata's chakra and surprisingly it made him feel so relaxed, so calm, that all of his worries were gone and he started to feel nervous. It would been his first date, after all; he hoped that he did not look too shabby in front of her, or be a jerk, or be an idiot as he always was, or do something stupid and make her upset, or...It drove him crazy and he could feel his heart beating faster and faster as the figure of his wife became clearer. Then his heart stopped a beat as he saw what was in front of him; his body shook with anger his blood boiled uncontrollably as he rushed to his wife.

* * *

><p>Please review and let me know what you think about this chapter.<p> 


	9. Tsunade vs Hiashi part 2

**A/N**: I don't want to make this story long, but as I write it, it becomes longer than I expected, so it might take more than 15 chapters depend on how I play out all the details. Probably 2 more chapters and hopefully we will reach the climax; so be patient with me, I need some set up before I could wrap this story up nicely; but I will make the next two chapters as interesting and worth reading as possible.

**Disclaimer**: Not own Naruto

(7/8/11)

* * *

><p><strong>Ino's genius plan #1: <strong>Execute: Ino, allies and helpers: unknown for now

Naruto's body was shaking with anger as he ran toward Hinata; he didn't know what to make of the figure in front of him. This was Hinata, but it was also not Hinata. The Hinata in front of him was wearing something like a dress with no shelves or collar, which revealed most of her breast; the dress was very short and tightly embraced her body that everyone could see every line and curves of her body. The problem was that they were in the middle of the winter and Hinata was shivering under the icy wind. It must be that brainless Ino that made Hinata wear something like this; what if she got a cold? His blood boiled faster and faster as he approached Hinata; to make the matter worse, every men around the gate was looking at Hinata like some kind hungry animals looking at food. Ino, that stupid woman, what was she thinking in her little brain, to kill his wife under the cold weather, and even worse display her like a toy in front of those hungry pervert eyes.. He took his jacket out and put it on Hinata.

"Naruto-kun, when did you.."

"Take this and go home to change immediately."

"But we just, we didn't even begin our date yet."

"I don't want this date anymore, let's go home."

Hinata tried hard to held back her tears. She had expected his date for so long, had done everything in her power to make it a memberable date, she was so scared of screwing this up, and the result was this. She screwed up her long-awaited date before it even started. What was the problem? Why was Naruto-kun so angry?

Seeing tears in her eyes, Naruto immediately explained

"Hinata, I'm sorry. It is not because of you. I just don't want you to catch a cold. Let's go home to change so that we could begin our date again. I don't want to screw this up, believe me, I really want this date."

"Naruto-kun, really, do you really want to continue this?"

"Of course, Hinata, sorry for being a jerk. I was just overreacting, that's all."

"Do you not like this dress? Do I look really bad in it?"

Naruto frowned as he asked,

"Did Ino ask you into wearing this?"

"Hai."

_Flashback:_

_It was the day after Naruto left. Hinata was on her way back home after the trainning with Neji, then Ino appeared out of nowhere and confronted Hinata,_

"_Hey Hinata, do you want to go shopping with me?"_

"_Shopping. I've never went shopping before, but I might need to go home."_

"_It is still very early, and why would you need to go home? Naruto was on a mission, isn't he? Won't you feel a little bit lonely? Let's go shopping, I'll make you into a wife that every husband would desire."_

"_But"_

"_Let's go"_

_So Ino dragged Hinata from store to store, trying countless fashionable dresses and skirts. _

"_Ino-chan, I don't think I need to have a dress. I'm very comfortable with my current clothes."_

"_That's the problem. You are now a married woman, you need more than comfortable clothing, you need sexy clothes, those that will knock your husband out with just a glance. Look at this dress, with this, Naruto could never resist you."_

"_But..it is too revealing."_

"_Listen to me, Hinata. Although you are married now, you are very inexperienced in making a man desire you. To keep Naruto's heart, you have to make him desire you every day, every minute, every second. Listen to me, every man is a pervert, once you hold their weaknesses in your hand, feeding their eyes and minds with every image of you, of your sexy body, of the way you move your hip or sway your breast a little, with all of those mental images, they would never leave you, never."_

"That stupid Ino."

Naruto tightened his grips. That stupid Ino, more like making him desiring her, she made every man in the village desire her, HIS WIFE, and how stupid she was to think that she had a lot of experiences in relationships. According to Otouchan, desire was the first step to a marriage downfall. No wonder she had not even found herself a man. But he would not tell her his secrets because NOW he didn't mind at all having to witness her living the rest of her life alone, never blessed with children.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun."

"That's not your fault, it is Ino's for not considering the weather. I just don't want you to catch a cold. And beside.." he smiled brightly as he continued "I think you look better with your old clothes. Hinata is best with just being Hinata. You don't have to change for me. I like you best when you are just being yourselves."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Let's go home. I can't wait for the date, dattebayo."

In a corner, Ino talked with her allies and supporters as the couple headed home

"See, the plan worked wonderfully. He cannot resist her even for just a second and immediately takes her home to finish their deeds. Hee hee hee! This operation is a piece of cake. Tsunade-sama should not gather too many people, only me is enough. Let's head to the Hokage's Tower and let her know that our mission is an immediate success."

**Ino's genius plan #1: **Execute: Ino, allies and helpers: unknown for now. Results: **Imaginary success, reality fail. **

A/N: if you wonder where was Neji, look at the other corner just across Ino's one. He was lying unconsciously on the ground due to the loss of blood from massive mega nosebleeds.

* * *

><p><strong>Tsunade's pre-plan:<strong> Execute: Tsunade, allies and helpers: none.

In the Hokage Office.

"Tsumade-sama. According to our investigation, Naruto and Hinata have not falled into Ino's plan as she reported." Shizune talked while looking at the report.

"I guess so. It would not be easy."

"I still cannot believe that Naruto and Hinata could be so navie."

"They are still very young, and as shinobis they have to handle various dangerous and intense situations, there is no time for them to learn about love. For Naruto, he has to bear the burden of creating peace for the whole shinobi world. For Hinata, she has to bear the burden of becoming the next heir, she has to become strong and worthy with the title. And we, adults, never teach them anything but how to become a strong shinobi and how to kill. To be honest, not a lot of shinobis care about relationships, and most of us live alone until the day we die. Hiashi has taken advantages of the situation, right before they have a chance to ask others and learn about relationships, he has poisoned them with false information and advises, making it more difficult for us to reteach them and guide them to the right path. Besides, it is a very sensitive subject and not easy to explain clearly to them."

"But don't they all have guidance? I mean Naruto has Jiraya-sama and Kakashi, I don't want to say it, but Jiraya-sama is the pervert saint and Kakashi is quite a closet pervert. And Hinata has Kunerai."

"It is true. But Jiraya didn't do anything but peeping and flirting, the same habit of my gambling. I believe he didn't do anything beyond that. Even if he did, do you think he would show it to a 13 year old boy or teach him about it? Naruto was still very young at that time, and they had better thing to do. I think Jiraya thought Naruto was enough a pervert to take care of himself in the future. And Kakashi, to be honest, he is no better than Naruto even with or without Icha Icha. He could not do a thing, remember the time when he read a page from Icha Icha and what became of his face after that?"

They both laughed uncontrollably until Tusnade stopped and continued:

"About Kurenai, sure she could teach Hinata about relationships and stuffs, but she might think that Hinata could not need them in the near future, she is still very young after all. Besides, Hinata has her special training, and I think that is one of the reason Kurenai does not want to distract Hinata with stuffs that she might not use in the near future."

"So what we need to do now, Tsunade-sama?"

"We have a whole army to support us and distract Hiashi when the time comes. For now call Naruto in, I need to talk with him."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama"

XxXxXxXx

"Bachan, what's up? I think we all agree on the fewer missions per month, don't tell me you want to change your mind now?"

"Of course not, and yes I did change my mind but not in a bad way. You can stay here at the village for now, help me with my paper work and learn how to be a Hokage."

"What? You don't want to cage me in this village, do you?"

"Of course not. Naruto, I'm getting old, and believe it or not, being a Hokage is not an easy task. I need some help, and I also want to train you. There is a lot to be learn, just having new and powerful ninjustsu is not enough. I want you to spend more time in the village, trying to understand more about our shinobies, strengthen your bonds with everyone in the village, and in the mean time you will properly be prepared to become a good leader."

"I'm feeling ok with interacting with everyone in this village now, everyone seems to like me, I don't have any problem."

"Naruto, there is something I don't want to tell you, but it's best if you know about it. Sasuke...*sigh* I never approve you to bring him back, but since it is important to you, I don't mind letting you do what you want. During these two years, you might not be aware of this because you were not in the village that often, but Sasuke had gained substantial supports from many shinonies and villagers, even many elders from the council and noble clans. At first, people didn't like him, but with your guarantees and pleads, they have changed their mind and tried to accept him once more. To everyone eyes, now he is a hardworking, talented shinobi who has resented his past mistake and willing to do anything to pay for his sins. Even without Sharingan, his talents have surpassed countless elite ninjas. Everyone is enchanted by his charms, talents, and his cool attitudes. Many people has compared you to him, saying that he is much a better representative for our village. He even has influences within my offices, I have many time seen him with his fan girls from the tower, he has his own fan club within this Hokage tower."

"Bachan, isn't it a good thing, that he is loved and respected by many, isn't it what we always want?"

"Naruto, answer me this. Do you trust him from the bottom of your heart?"

Naruto looked down. He was not a fool, he knew, he knew deep in his heart from the moment he brought Sasuke back that he could not trust Sasuke. Even now, he still had nightmares about what Sasuke could do to the village that it woke him up and made him shiver helplessly for the whole night. He still believed in Sasuke though, he still trusted the old Sasuke, the part that was still somewhere in Sasuke, that he would change. He still hoped that he could somehow wash all his pain and hate away. He sighed, he knew from the last time he checked on Sasuke that there was something up, there was something wrong, although he could not find out what. Sasuke was too calm and too perfectly fine to be true.

"What do you want me to do, bachan? Do you want me to kill him?"

"Could you bring yourselves to do that even as I ask you to?"

"I will die with him."

"Then forget about it, just stay at the village. Watch over him closely and do what ever you want to do. As long as you stay in the village, as long as we have you, there is no need to worry. But.." Tsunade smiled deviously as she continued "we still need to pay off the last debts, and in order to do so, I have prepare for you a very great job that you will like."

"What? Bachan, I think the whole contract is off, I am not your slave anymore, why do I have to pay off your debt?"

Tsunade's eyes now filled of tears and she began to sob uncontrollably. She continued to talk between the sobbing,

"Here *hic* I have *hic* been so nice to you *hic*. I never want you to be my slave *hic*. It was an accident *hic*. And you should be grateful for me *hic*, if not for that, you could never find a wife like Hinata *hic*.With your brain and appearances *hic*, it is highly possible that you will be alone for the rest of your life. I have done countless things for you *hic*, have you ever seen any Jinjuriki who could leave the village and do what they want like you *hic*? I even save S-rank missions just for you *hic*, I even help you to bring Sasuke back *hic*, I even defend you in front of the council and other Kages *hic*. Now you are all powerful and mighty *hic*, you don't need to care about me anymore *hic*, let the debtors kill me and throw my body for crows to eat *hic*; that way you don't have to even make a funeral for me *hic*... *hic* ...*hic*. I just want to ask you one more favor *hic*, when I die could you put my left over bone in the same tomb with my dear Dan *hic*. And when you have children, please tell them that their Baa-baa loved them very much *hic*..*hic*..*hic*"

"Bachan. I'm just kidding. Please don't cry. I'm sorry. I'll do whatever you want me to do!"

"Really?"

Even a baka like Naruto could not help but be surprised at how quickly those tears left her eyes, and how her face turned into a very brightened one, full of hope and delight. He sighed, she was still his bachan after all, how could he deny her of anything.

"Of course Bachan, you know that I can not deny you of anything. Just say what you want."

"Oh, Naruto. Look at this; I have a plan to publish a book, your book, about your adventures and tales, how you grew up and became a man you are today. I want to have at least 12 volumes of them, so I need those books to be as detailed as possible, making them as long as possible, of course adding a lot of interesting events and even romance to trigger the reader's curiosities and interests."

"The way you say it makes me think that you want me to write it."

"Who else could do the task? Do you think I have money to hire someone to write your story? It is about your life after all, so you should be the one to write it. Think of this as a chance to let this whole world know about you better. It is one of the step to become a Hokage."

"But it is a lot of work, and you want me to help you with the paper work, so I have to work with paper all day, you know how bad I am working with paper and pencil."

"You just bad with tests and exams, this is different. You know how to write, right? That's enough, Shizune will help you with the paper work. Don't you always want to spend more time with your friends and Hinata? This is a perfect opportunity. Use it well."

"You are right. Thank you, bachan."

"Oh, one more thing, to educate young shinobies about marriage I have opened a workshop about relationships and how to become a successful married couple. Take Hinata with you to the Tower this Saturday, it will be very helpful to both of you."

"That would be great. I'll be there. At what time, bachan?"

"In the evening, of course."

"But we have dinner with Otou-chan every Saturday night."

"It's such a pity. All of your friends will be there. Don't blame me later on if they have children faster and more than you even if you are the first to get married. I wonder what you will think if Sai has at least two this year while you still have zero."

"We are working really hard at it. Believe me, bachan, otou-chan has told me some secrets to have a bunch of children in no time."

"But nothing has happened yet, hast it? This workshop might help you to achieve your goal faster and more effectively. There are many secrets that even people like Hiashi do not know."

"Um, sure. I'll take Hinata there. I'm sure Otou-chan would not mind."

"Don't tell Hiashi about it, and tell Hinata to keep it a secret, too. Don't talk to anyone about it, even your friends. I have told them to keep silent too; so don't discuss with them about it. This is supposed to be a secret mission to strengthen our village. It is important that only a few know about it so that people from other village could not copy us and reproduce faster than us. On the second thought, don't even tell Hinata about it, just take her here on Saturday, think of some excuses to both her and Hiashi. Remember, when you get you foot out of this door, don't open your mouth to say a word about this workshop. Don't tell anyone. This is a top secret mission."

"Oh, it sure sounds very important. I will not say a word about this. I promise."

"Good, very good. You can leave now. Go to the mission hall to collect your money for the last mission."

"Wow, you are strangely nice today, bachan."

"You are not my slave anymore, and besides if you do a good job on the book, we can pay off our debts once and for all."

" You mean your debts."

**Tsunade's pre-plan:** Execute: Tsunade, allies and helpers: none.

Results: unknown effect in the future. **Mission completes.**

"Shizune, you can take off the silence ninjustsu now"

"Hai, Tsunade. I also placed a genjustsu outside this office. There would not be a soul who know what is really going on in here."

"With Hiashi, too much caution is never enough, but I have a lot of back up plans. There is no need to hurry."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I really want to wrap up this story and move to the next one, but I also don't want to rush the plots; so please tell me what you think. Is this story too slow? Too fast? Too boring? or too much information? Is there anything you want me to change about this story or is it ok the way it is? If possible I would not change too much though since I have the plot and ending all play out, but any contructive criticism is encouraged and will be taken into consideration.

Also once I finish this story I want to do another long story about Naruhina, so any ideas or requests are welcomed.

And don't forget to review if you like this chapter.


	10. Tsunade vs Hiashi part 3

**A/N:**

Thank you for those who read, alert, favor, and especially take your time to review this story.

Before you read this chapter, I want to emphasize one thing. This is a Naruhina story, and as I used to say in my profile, it means no other pairings; which means no Narusaku, Nejihina, or Sasusaku, shikatem, ect. But our couple is so cute, you cannot blame me to make others fall for them. So no hard feelings, hee hee. And you can not say one-sided love as a pairing because pairing/couple= 1(have some feelings) + 1(also have some feelings); or it could be considered a pairing if the story focuses on the two characters although one of them do not return the feeling or there is a lot of interactions between the two; at least that is how it is in my opinion.

So enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think.

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Naruto

(7/15/11)

**Tenten's dai genius plan # 1: **Execute: Tenten. Helpers: secrets for now

Naruto looked at his friends suspiciously, all of them had those guilty smiles on their faces again;

"What's up with you guys? Why do we all go to the academy? I'm very busy. Hinata, let's go."

"Hold on, Naruto." Kiba growled. "We are supposed to remodel the school. Do you think I enjoy this? But an order is an order."

"I have better thing to do. I haven't started on my book yet, and only I will be the one who has to listen to Bachan's nagging."

"Come on you two, this is not a time for quarreling. Let's get to work." Ino sighed. She still didn't quite understand why her plan had not worked; and now she had to go along with plans of others; she should think of something quick and put it into action. But before she could come up with any idea, Tenten had called them over,

"Naruto, Hinata, come here, Chouji is stuck over here, help me to pull him out."

Naruto rushed out to Tenten, he looked into the closet,

"Where where? I don't see anything in here."

"Of course you don't."

Before he realized it, he and Hinata were pushed into the closet. He heard a click and giggles came from the girls. He could not believe it, he was trapped into a closet with his wife, and by Tenten of all people. How stupid could it be?

"Oups. Sorry Hinata, Naruto. I accidentally locked you guys here. Wait for 20 minutes and I'll come back with the key."

"Like I'll believe you. Get us out of here now."

But no one answered as the sound of footsteps fading further and further.

"Naruto-kun. I'm sorry."

"It is not your fault, Hinata."

Naruto tried to turn around to face Hinata, but he froze as his hands touched something soft, very soft. Face burning like crazy, Naruto stuttered:

"S-s-sorry Hinata, I-I I d-didn't m-mean to..."

"It's ok, Naruto-kun."

Naruto could not see very clearly in the darkness, but he could feel the heat coming from their bodies, and somehow the closet was very hot. Sweat running through their body like rain, concerned, Naruto asked,

"Hinata, do you want to take off your jacket, it is really hot in here."

"I'm ok, Naruto-kun."

But Hinata obviously was not ok, she looked like she could passed out from the heat at any moment. Naruto took out his jacket and tossed it away before he decided to make a bold move.

"Hinata, take it off." He grabbed her zipper, pulled it down and took her jacket off. Her face now was like a tomato; and how could he say it, a very delicious tomato. Curse Otou-chan, curse their future children, curse their marriage. Naruto put his hand on her waist, pulling her closer and began to kiss her neck,

"Hinata."

"Naruto-kun"

Hinata moaned as Naruto lightly bit on her neck, she wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him even closer. The feel of their bodies against each others through their thin t-shirts, dampening because of the heat, was incredible. It gave them the sensations that they had never felt before. There was a connection, stronger than they had never known existed; one more step and they could complete that connection, to link their life together once and for all. Naruto raised his head, looking deep into her eyes, his eyes were full of concern and guilt.

"Naruto-kun, I love you."

He would remember this moment for the rest of his life. As he leaned closer and was about to put his lips on hers. The door exploded into pieces, revealing a ragging Neji. Instead of thanking Neji for rescuing them, Naruto silently cursed for his presence. Why did Neji always appear in critical moments?

Neji pulled Naruto's t-shirt, his voice very cold,

"What do you think you are doing, bastard? How dare you touch her in that way?"

This... Naruto, shivered, could it be that Neji's recent hostiles toward him were the results of jealousy. If Neji was jealous of him and Hinata, could it be that he had held some feelings toward his own cousin. Anger devoured Naruto,

"What do I do with my wife is none of your business, keep your nose where it belongs, and", Naruto pressed his tone to emphasise the words, "You are the one who should stay away from my wife. Don't you even feel ashamed of yourselves for looking at your own cousin with such eyes?"

Neji's face was very pale as he turned away and left.

"Neji-nisan"

Hinata pulled his shirt and tried to keep him back. Neji took her hand off, turned around and looked at the couple sadly,

"I only do what I think is best for Hinata. Yes, she is important to me more than just a cousin, but I would never do anything to harm her and make her sad. But you, Naruto, you are the one who has the potential to do such thing. That's why I don't want you to get close to her."

"Don't give me that crap, I would never do anything to harm her."

"Hinata is very dedicated. You don't need to do anything, just being with you is dangerous enough to break her."

"Don't play smart words with me. Keep it simple."

"Do you love her?"

Naruto looked away, he liked Hinata, a lot, a lot, a lot; and he did love her. It was just that he didn't know if it was the right kind of love or not.

"I like her a lot."

"That's why you will break her."

Neji turned his back again and left. Hinata looked at Naruto sadly,

"Why do you have to say such thing to nisan?"

"I didn't do any wrong. He is the one that has problem. Do you even understand the way he looks at you? Why do you try to defend him?" Anger got better at him, fear and guilt also added up and made the matter worse. Naruto grabbed her wrist roughly, he looked at her with such anger he had never felt before. "Do you also hold some feelings toward him?"

Tears swelled in her eyes,

"He is my cousin, my very best friend, of course I love him. I would never want him to be sad. He was just overreacting a bit; he means no harm to us."

"So you love him. Then what does that make of me. Didn't you just say you love me a second ago? Are you going to say I love you to every single man you set an eye to?"

Hinata slapped Naruto hard on his face and ran away; tear flowed like rain on her face. Naruto put his hand on his chest, this was too painful, making the one you loved unhappy and cry like that.

"I'm such a jerk."

XxXxXx

"You sure are". His friends at a corner murmured.

"But this is really bad". Kiba commented, "what are we gonna do now that they broke up?"

Ino knocked on Kiba's head,

"Baka, they did not break up; they just had a little fight, that's all. All what we need to do is to get them to make up. You know what, actually it will work perfectly for us, usually when people get into a big fight, they make up by, you know...doing this" She put her thumbs together playfully, and they all laughed hard.

"Where so you get that idea from?" Kiba asked, after recovering from laughing and somehow having regained his commonsense.

"It's all over magazines, books, movies." The girls exclaimed, looked at him like he was an alien. "You should spend less time with dogs and more time trying to find someone."

Kiba growled back, "Like you are the one to talk, look at you two, are you able to even have a date with all of that knowledge."

"But at least I am not a dog freak like you. And for your information, men are all over me, it is just I have not found someone that is worthy enough to be with me."

"Come on, Ino. We all know that your luck with men is the same as the Hokage's luck with gambling."

Seeing Ino was about to talk back, Tenten interrupted,

"Come on you two, we have a crisis here. Instead of quarreling, we need to think of a way to bring those two back together and help them to have children as soon as possible."

"If it is not because of your plan, we will not be in such a pinch like this." Ino complained.

"Hey, it's not fair, there is nothing wrong with my plan, we would have succeeded if it had not been for Neji's intervention. Isn't it your job, Kiba, to make sure no one will intervene?"

"Uh, yeah, I put Lee and Chouji to watch the north and the south while Ino and myself watched the west and the east. He did not come from my direction. Also I have set a lot of traps along the way."

"Tch, traps of such level could only postpone him a little. By the way, he did not come from my direction either."

"All we needed to do was to postpone him long enough until they finished their deeds." Tenten sighed, "But they had been taking too long, and Neji was able to break in too soon. Let's find others and report to the Hokage for now."

First they went to the south to find Chouji who was still too busy eating his potato chips. By the way, these were not the potato chips that he used to eat when he was twelve; these were special potato chips for the eighteen years old Chouji; its size was about five times as big, and of course holding a bag ten times more was not a problem to our Chouji, right? Enough with my rambling; anyway, since he was so concentrated on his important task, he had not noticed the presences of his friends, and they had to drag him out to meet with Lee at the north; which made his friends wondered if he could even know if Neji passed by.

To the north where Lee kept his watch, the four witnessed an interesting scene,

"Hey Neji" Lee yelled," Let's do a rematch, this time let's play rock, paper, scissor. I don't believe I would lose to you three consecutive matches."

His friends shook their heads, undid the bunshin and dragged him back to the Hokage's Tower.

A/N: for those who don't get this, Neji made a clone to distract Lee while he himself sneaked in.

**Tenten's dai genius plan # 1: **Execute: Tenten. Helpers: Lee, Kiba, Ino, Chouji. Mission fail. **:(**

**Chouji's recovery plan. **

"Naruto, hey, Naruto"

Naruto turned his head. It was just Chouji, but he was in no mood to meet any of his friend today; he needed to find Hinata first and apologize to her.

"Sorry Chouji, I'm in no mood to talk today, I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Is this because of Hinata?"

Naruto sighed, "So you know?"

Chouji looked down. It was partly his fault that Naruto and Hinata had the fight, so he wanted to do something to help.

"Do you want to eat something? No ramen this time, though."

Naruto smiled. It was good to confine with your friend once in a while though, and he really needed to have someone to talk to right now.

"So let's go grab some barbecue."

_In the barbecue restaurant:_

Naruto sighed; he was so stupid to think that Chouji could help him with his love life. All he had done since they came here was eating non-stop.

"Naruto, you are a jerk."

"I know, I was just so angry that I could not control myself and end up hurting her badly."

"What made you so angry? It is not like you to say such thing to both Neji and Hinata."

Naruto's face turned red, he didn't want his friend to know of his childish reasons, but he did not want to lie to him either.

"Neji."

"What's wrong with Neji, and how he is related to this?"

Naruto's face became even redder, he murmured

"Because I suspect Neji has some feelings to Hinata."

"What did you say? I didn't hear you very clearly"

Naruto leaned closer and whispered into Chouji ears,

"I think that Neji has some feelings to Hinata."

Chouji looked at him, surprised,

"So what? They are cousins and also very best friends, it is normal that they have feelings to each other."

Naruto sighed, Chouji sure was dumb; he should not confine with him in the first place. With this kind of stuff, Iruka sensei or even Shikimaru might be better listeners.

"Naruto, you don't have to worry so much. Bring a lot of food that she likes and she will forget you in no time."

"Really?" Naruto asked, full of hope; Chouji might not be so useless after all.

"But remember, you have to handmake all of those foods to show her that you are seriously want to apologize to her."

"Just that huh, there is no problem."

So Naruto and Chouji bought a ton of ingredients and came back to Naruto's house to cook; or more precisely, Naruto cooked and Chouji ate.

"Hey Chouji, leave some for Hinata, dattebayo."

"We have a ton here, and beside girl should not eat too much; you don't want Hinata to get fat, do you?"

"If it makes her happy, I would not mind at all. Hinata is Hinata whether she is fat or not will not matter at all."

"You say that because she is still skinny, but if she suddenly gets fat, I bet that you will get bored of her."

Naruto suddenly got angry,

"Who do you think I am, Chouji? Do you think I am the kind who goes for appearance? I love Hinata, it does not matter what she will become, I will never stop loving her because of that."

Chouji smiled,

"Oh, so now you love Hinata, why don't you just say so when Neji asked you?"

Naruto scratched his head,

"I just don't know if it is a right kind of love. You know, romantic love and not just sister love."

"If it is just a sister love you would not get jealous of Neji out of nothing."

'So he does understand the problem.' Naruto thought, 'he might not as stupid as I think he is, but I am not jealous of Neji, and it is not for nothing.'

"Beside", Chouji continued, "If you really don't care about her appearance and want to keep men away from her, there is one way."

"What is this?" Naruto leaned closer, his face was full of hope.

"Feed her like a pig, making her fat and ugly so that men will not even want to take a glance at her. Since you do not care about her appearance, you will never leave her; then she will belong to you and you alone since except you no one would accept her and want to be with her."

"Isn't it too selfish? This is no good, I would not do something that could potential harm her."

"The only thing that could potentially harm her, and that is if you leave her once you get bored of her."

"I would never do that."

"So there is no problem then, Hinata would also not mind about her appearance. There is no harm involved; and you would have her all for yourselves."

"That's still no good though; what if I die and no one wants to take care of her because of, you know, her new appearance; also she is a shinobi, being overweight could affect her mission, she is not from your clan, you know, so she cannot utilize her size to any advantage. And most important, eating too much is not good for her health, what if she gets sick or die because of eating too much? Hey, no offense though, Chouji, you need to eat for your clan technique but Hinata's clan technique is different, it might..."

"Ok ok, I get it. So you care about her a lot. Shouldn't you be happy that she has others who care about her the same as you do, like Neji, for example?"

Naruto stared at Chouji for a while before he grabbed the food and ran out of the house,

"Thank you Chouji"

XxXxXx

"Naruto-sama, sorry but we cannot let you go inside."

"I'm Hinata's husband. The heir's husband. Doesn't it make me your leader too? Let me in."

"Sorry Naruto-sama, but we have taken direct order from Hiashi-sama and Neji-sama to not let you in or meet with Hinata-sama. So if you could kindly leave.."

Naruto made his hand sign and noticed how all the guards were prepared to fight back. He sighed and left. He didn't want to start a fight in front of Hinata's house; that could only create more troubles for her. Even if he could sweep all of these shinobies in just one second, what good could it bring to him, to their relationships? Hinata could be even more angry at him, and more important she might be sad knowing that her people were beaten by him. The last thing that he wanted to do was to create conflicts with her clan and make her sadder than she already was.

Walking back to his house, he transformed into a Hyuuga, and walked back to the mansion, passed the gate easily and tried to sneak into Hinata's room. He knocked on her window,

"Hinata. Hinata."

Hinata came closer to the window, she raised her eye brow,

"Who are you? You are not a Hyuuga"

Naruto released the justsu and transferred back,

"It's me. Naruto. I need to talk to you."

* * *

><p>AN: Like I said, I'll probaly try to speed up the story a little bit, so hopefully after the next chapter we could reach to the climax. It's still pending though because I haven't done with chapter 11 yet.

Please review and let me know what you think about this chapter and the story so far. I'm very nervous because this is my first fic. Well, actually up to today I have written some oneshots, so it will not be my first completed work. But it is still my first fic ever, and my first try on Naruto; so I really want to know what works and what do not.


	11. New challenges

**A/N**: Sorry the late update.

Thank you for those who read and follow this story up to this point; especial thank for those who take your precious time to review.

The next chapter is still in progress, might take longer than expected.

**Disclaimer:** Do not own Naruto

(7/26/11)

* * *

><p>"N-na-naruto-kun, what are you doing here?"<p>

Naruto grinned, "To feed you, of course."

He jumped into the room and sat on the bed,

"Let's see what we get here. There you are; first, let's have this red bean soup as an appetizer. Then we have steak as a main course with some wine to savor the taste. We also have chicken barbecue in case you're still hungry and your favorite cinnamon rolls as dessert."

Hinata's eyes widened in awe as Naruto used his time space jutsu to pull a table out of the air, then all of the food and dishes. Naruto hummed while setting up the dinner table. Lastly he pulled out a bouquet of Hyacinth and gave it to Hinata. He turned his head away, blushed, and scratched his head, unable to form a word.

"Naruto-kun, this is..."

Naruto bowed and yelled his true feelings out of his chest,

"I'm sorry, Hinata, for being a jerk."

Not hearing an answer, he looked up to see a sobbing Hinata,

"Hinata, what..."

"Naruto-kun, *sob*, I was so scared that you would hate me *sob*, I didn't know how to face you after *sob*...I'm sorry for slapping at you like that *continued to sobbing uncontrollably*. I thought that you would never want to see me again. *sob* I really don't want to hurt you. I didn't know what got into me..."

Naruto took her hands and placed a light kiss on it to calm her down; then he let her palm touch his cheek, feeling the softness of it.

"See, it is not hurt at all. And I deserved to be slapped by you." He leaned his forehead against hers, "Sorry to hurt you with my words. I was so angry and confused I didn't know what to do and I was so afraid of losing you.."

"What is the commotion over here? Huh, Naruto, what are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to restrain your desires? Look, what are you doing now?"

Hiashi sighed and looked around the room while Naruto and Hinata instantly kept their distance; each went into a corner of the room. Hiashi nodded in satisfaction,

"That is much better. That is how a husband and wife should behave, always keep some distance and treat each other with due respects and formalities, the same way you treat your guests."

Then his eyes spotted the dinner table. Naruto could swear that for a moment he did see a glint of light in his eyes.

"Well, I see you have prepared quite a feast here. Let's not waste any of it. Come, Hinata and Naruto, let's have a late dinner together."

Much to Naruto's dismay, he and Hinata were placed on each side of Hiashi-sama; and, much to his greater horror, Hiashi was a very devoted and fast eater who in just a second had helped Naruto to clean out the whole table, not wasting a single piece. He cleaned his mouth with a napkin and asked Naruto delightfully,

"Such a wonderful meal, did you prepare it yourselves, Naruto?"

"Hai, Otou-chan, I especially prepared this for Hinata", Naruto tried with his weak voice to emphasize the last word as clear as possible.

"Oh, you are such a good husband, but consider how Hinata hasn't had a chance to taste any of it yet. May I ask if you had prepared more for her? In my opinion, the last meal is pretty insufficient for a shinobi of such quality as Hinata."

"Actually I did prepare some extra in case she wants some."

Naruto used his time space jutsu and pulled out some more food.

"Very good. As the father of Hinata, I humbly thank you."

And to express his humble thanks to Naruto, Hiashi-sama again helped him to finish all the food in a matter of another second. He clapped his stomach lightly and yawned,

"You are such a good cook you should come here more often and cook for Hinata. It's getting late now; you can go to the guest room. See you tomorrow at breakfast."

With that he reached to the door and left. Naruto ran after him and asked,

"Otou-chan, can Hinata come home with me tomorrow?"

Hiashi laughed,

"So you newlyweds have found a way to solve your little conflicts, huh? Of course; Hinata is free to go wherever she wants. On a second thought, if you want Hinata back, you better bring her here more often and let the whole family try your cooking too. But next time remember to make a feast ten times as big. You should not be cheap when it comes to your wife's family."

Naruto murmured as Hiashi's figure dissolved into the dark hall.

"You mean to cook for you. And you should be more generous when it comes to your poor little son-in-law."

He scratched his head and pounded it on the wall. "I can't believe it. I put all of my money of the last mission on the food, and the result is that all of it went into Chouji and Otou-chan stomachs; and Hinata didn't even have a chance to taste even one bit of my devotion to her. It is so unfair. What is the point to put so much effort in it anyway? I should not listen to Chouji and Shizune-Onee-chan, after all."

He groaned and headed to the guest room which was pretty much his own room in the mansion now; cursing his stupid self for listening to imprudent and unwise advises.

_Flash back:_

_Naruto stomped into Shizune as he rushed to the house after the talk with Chouji._

"_Naruto, prefect timing. I have heard what Chouji told you and I will help you to make a prefect dinner to win Hinata's heart."_

"_What? Did you just eavesdrop on us?"_

_Shizune laughed guiltily and waved her hands,_

"_Eavesdropping? What are you talking about? I'm not that kind of person. I just accidentally heard something important; and what's more important is that I will help you to make your chance to get her back higher."_

"_Are you sure Shizune-Onee-chan? Make it fast, though; I don't have much time."_

"_Don't worry about time; you have plenty of time until it gets dark. You should operate this plan at night, and I got some handful helpers here, so you will be back up with our full force. Now, let's see what you got for dinner."_

_Looking at the bag Naruto was holding, Shizune frowned_

"_This is not good. Cinnamon roll and red bean soup are not showing her your feelings and commitments good enough. Here is the plan; read bean soup as appetizer, steak and chicken BBQ as main courses, and cinnamon roll as dessert."_

"_Aren't steak and chicken BBQ kind of expensive?"_

"_Don't speak money when you speak love. I can't ever imagine you as a material type who cares only for money. No wonder you could never get yourselves a girlfriend before. And what's more, you need flowers to show that you are sorry. Ino suggested Hyacinth. It means sincere; it is a way to show your gratitude, to show her that you are really sorry and you sincerely regret for what you have done."_

_Shizune began spinning around the room, dreamy waving her note, "I have always dreamt of have a romantic dinner with my love; eating steaks and enjoying the wine under the dimming candles light, pouring into each other's ears words of sweetness. Ohhhhh *closed her eyes*. And then Ahhhhhhhh *embraced her face with her hands and jumped around*._

"_Shizune-Onee-chan. Hey, Shizune-Onee-chan."_

"_Oh, Naruto, remember this", Shizune suddenly returned to her serious face as she added, "make sure to apology to her properly, and you have to kiss her after that. Then you can... *blush*"_

"_Do I really have to kiss her *blush*?"_

"_Of course; this is a main part of the ritual. You can only be forgiven after you kiss her. Remember that well."_

_End of flash back._

Naruto tossed around the bed, nuzzling his face deep into the pillow.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't kissed her yet, so she has not forgiven me yet, has she?"

"_You can only be forgiven after you kiss her. Remember that well."_

_You can only be forgiven after you kiss her. Remember that well."_

_You can only be forgiven after you kiss her. Remember that well."_

_You can only be forgiven after you kiss her. Remember that well."_

Naruto groaned, covered his ears with his hands and tried to sleep again.

**Chouji + Shizune's recovery plans**: execute: Naruto. Mission successes with huge losses on Naruto's financial standing. Naruto's imagination: unsuccessful.

* * *

><p>Sakura headed to the market, holding some vegetables for Naruto. That baka. She smiled; he never ate vegetable. She smiled again, imagining his face when she forced vegetables into his mouth. She had that urge again; the urge to see him and talk to him. She had tried to constraint herself, kept reminding herself that he was a married man, but maybe it only made the urge became stronger. The attraction became more irresistible. That was why today she had to find him to confirm her feelings, to prove that those feeling were not real, all of those were the results of jealous and she would see him as her friend once she met him again. Her heart beat rapidly as two figures passed her. She tried to call out in her weak voice,<p>

"Naruto."

She reached her hands and tried to call him again. That was all in vain. All he could see right now was the one walking next to him. All he could hear right now was the gentle and sweet voice of the woman next to him. There was no place left to her; she had no place in his heart or his life now.

Her heart squeezed painfully at how his eyes looked at Hinata. Those looks; that was how he used to look at her with those deep blue eyes, so pure and gentle but at the same time so strong and intense, like she could be drawn into it completely. She was so scared before, to look into those eyes, to perceive how strong he was and how insignificant she was compared to him. She was scared of how she looked into those eyes and saw only her in them. She was scared of her inability to return his love and make him happy. But now, those feelings she had right now were even more terrifying than fear; the anticipation of losing him, losing his love, losing his heart... It was beyond her worst nightmare to see what was in his eyes just now. Only Hinata and Hinata alone.

Before, Naruto always knew where she was no matter how far apart they were. He was always the first who called out for her, he was always the first who reached his hands for her. But now, when she was just a few steps away from him, he could no longer feel her existence; he would never notice her the same way he did before. Tears began to flow down her cheek. She clenched her fists. She never felt this pain before; it was even more painful than the time Sasuke left the village, the time Sasuke declared to cut their bonds, the time Sasuke intended to kill her, the time when Sasuke betrayed the village. A hundred times more painful. The mere thought of losing Naruto shook Sakura to her core; making her go insane, unable to think, unable to control her body and emotions. Her legs followed the happy couple without her consent. Tears continued to dampen her face and her heart beat so fast that she thought it would jump out of her chest at any moment.

* * *

><p>Naruto's hands trembled as he held Hinata's hand and led her to the forest. He had to do it now. He had to do it or otherwise she would never forgive him. He had to do it. No problem. Everyone did it at least once in their life. Maybe not everyone, but well, that was not the point. He had to be more confident; it was not like it was his first time. He did it before. Yes, he had the experience in this particular matter. No worry, he could do it. He concentrated hard on memorizing how it happened last time. Alright, number one: the target had to sit in a lower position.<p>

"Hinata, sit here."

Naruto placed Hinata on a wooden log, and nodded in satisfaction when he himself jumped onto the big rock next to it. Number two: he had to be on a higher position. Yeah, that was perfect. Now this was almost the same scenario as the last time; all he needed to do now was get a little push from behind. That was a piece of cake. He made the hand sign and called out a bunshin.

"Hinata look at me."

"Naruto-kun, what's going on?"

As Naruto closed his eyes and pulled his lips out to complete the complicated task when his bunshin pushed him from behind, Hinata reacted according to her shinobi instinct and jumped out of her position, making Naruto kiss hard on the vacant log. His forehead met the hardened texture and he fell off to the ground.

"Naruto, Naruto, are you ok?"

Sakura rushed to Naruto and worriedly checked his wound. Hinata, still not able to regain her conscious after what happened, stood still there, motionless, watching Sakura healing Naruto.

Sakura gently wiped off his forehead with her handkerchief and looked at Hinata angrily. Hinata's heart squeezed painfully at the sight, at how gentle Sakura was to Naruto, at how much care and concern she put to him, at how he looked and smiled at her. Hinata clenched her fists and bit her lips hard to contain her tears. They looked so happy right now; they looked much better as a couple than she and Naruto. And what was she? A third person who was in their way. The look that Sakura just gave her. It was right; she couldn't do anything for Naruto but hurt him. The look that Sakura gave Naruto; she was truly in love with him. No, Hinata covered her ears with her hands. No, she didn't want to think any further. Naruto was in love with Sakura, too. He smiled at Sakura again with that smile. Tears swelled in her eyes; he rarely gave her that smile before but she guessed he always gave Sakura that. All she wanted to do now was to go there, hit Sakura hard in her face and threaten her to never get close to her Naruto again.

Hinata ran away. She had to get away from them, as far as possible, otherwise she would go insane. If she was there any longer, she would really hit Sakura. She was such a horrible person, thinking of something like hitting her friends. Why? Why did she turn out this way? If Naruto knew what was in her heart; her jealousy, her passive violence, her tendency to hurt his important friends, he would never want to be with her again. She tried to sweep her tears away, but they continued to fall nonstop.

She couldn't understand herself anymore. If it was before, she would be happy that Sakura came and helped Naruto; she wouldn't mind their friendship at all. But, she sobbed, that was not just friendship. Sakura loved Naruto; that she knew for sure. She sobbed harder; what if Naruto also loved Sakura? He had loved her before and still loved her now. What terrified her most was her reaction, her intolerance of any subjects near Naruto. No, she had to get away from him otherwise she would turn into a monster; she would change from a gentle timid shy shinobi to one that was full of jealousy and violent tendency. Yes, it was for the best that she should keep distance from him.

* * *

><p>A pair of eye watched the scenario passively and emotionless. However, inside those eyes were tons of emotions; hate, anger, bitterness, urges for revenge, thirst for blood and chaos. The sun shone too brightly these days. He was very happy recently; he was always smiling, always laughing and his eyes were full of happiness and love. It must be because of the little sun. The sun was too bright for his liking before and now that the little sun continued to add light to it, it became more unbearable, intolerable. He had run out of patience; no more waiting. He could not stand the sun any longer. Oh, he could not wait until he could crush it completely, shatter it into pieces. He closed his eyes. Then again, the sun was not that easy to break. It did not matter anymore; no more waiting. The sun shone too brightly now; if he waited any longer he would be dissolved completely into it.<p>

How he hated the sun. His eyes, his light, his past, his present, his clan, his memories, his brother; all of what had ever been important to him was being destroyed by the sun. Yes, the sun had stolen and destroyed anything that was important to him so the sun alone could be happy; so he could shine brightly and smile all days. It didn't matter anymore; even if he could not break the sun completely at least he could scratch a mark on it, poisoning it with darkness and depression long enough for his escape. Yes, no more patience. Here was the chance now that the little sun had run away from the sun. He had to catch this chance and use to it to his full advantage.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: I have been so busy with work and with updating stories, please show me some love by reviewing *puppy eyes*.


	12. Truth hurts, a lot

**A/N**

Reason for long delay. One week of writer block, do not want to write whatsoever. One week to write: busy in RL, not have much time, difficult to write**, **supper long. One week to be betaed.

* * *

><p>(816/11)

Naruto tossed and turned and then tossed and turned again. He threw his pillow away, called a bushin to pick it up only for him to throw it away again. He groaned, bouncing his head on the floor. Stupid, stupid Naruto. How could he be that stupid? He was the only son of the great 4th Hokage whose looks and intellect were far reached and admired by many and a great kunoichi whose beauty and intellect were not any less. So why? Why was he that stupid? Why couldn't he have inherited a little bit of wisdom from his parents? He turned on the light and looked at himself in the mirror. Maybe he did have some of the beauties from his parents too. He looked so stupid and ugly now, compared to the handsome and intelligent Neji. He frowned.

"UHG!"

He groaned again, kicking hard into the wall only to earn more pain and frustration.

Hinata had not come home. After his failed attempt to kiss her, he was not able to see her again. It must have been because he failed to kiss her, so obviously she was still angry at him. He should have taken Shizune-onee-chan's advice more seriously and tried harder to kiss her. Stupid Naruto; look at what he'd done now. He didn't kiss her, and now she left, and he would never be forgiven again. Hold on; he should ask Shizune-onee-chan as to whether there was a time limit to kiss her before he could be forgiven. Maybe he still had a chance if he kissed her soon enough. Maybe he could still be forgiven. Yes, he should not give up now. He prayed that Kami would give him another chance to apologize to her properly before he went to bed again. This time, he would do anything in his power to kiss her again and earn her forgiveness. Yes, no need to worry now; tomorrow would turn out to be a bright day.

* * *

><p>A ray of light shone on the young man's face. He woke up, smiled and turned his head to his right,<p>

"Good morning, Hinata."

There was no answer. The room was filled with dead silence and the ominous atmosphere of a storm coming the young man's way but of course our hero was too stupid to realize any of that now. However, he did feel sadness and loneliness without his wife by his side. He got out of his futon, cleaned the room, brushed his teeth, and dressed up. While he was combing his hair, he took a glance of his own image in the mirror. He sighed, trying hard to comb his hair again.

"Ok. I can go and meet her now, dattebayo."

But as he opened the door, he met a person he had not expected the most.

"Sasuke-teme. What are you doing here?"

"To help you open your eyes a little."

With that, Sasuke coldly led Naruto to a bar. He pulled Naruto into a dark corner and sat still there.

"Sasuke-teme, what..."

Sasuke placed his finger on his lips, signaling Naruto to keep quiet, and smirked. Whatever Sasuke planned to do with Naruto certainly would not be in his favor, but Naruto still waited to see what Sasuke was up to; although all what he wanted to do right now was to rush to Hinata's side and …....*blush*...so that she could forgive him once and for all. However, Naruto didn't have to wait long for the show to come.

A group of shinobies came into the empty bar and sat themselves in the middle of the room. They spoke loudly, totally unaware of the hidden ninjas in the dark corner. One shinobi with a pale face threw a bag of money on the table and cursed:

"I can't believe he is so stupid. How can a legendary shinobi like him have no idea how to …...*playing his fingers in a weird way that Naruto had no idea what he was trying to say*... after more than one month with one of the hottest kunoichi in this village."

"Accept your fate, dude. You lose. Thanks for the money. Anyone else wants to go for another bet?" Another shinobi with a monkey face smirked.

"Huh. You are so lucky lately. I wouldn't want to bet with you." The third shinobi who had a scar on his face answered.

The monkey faced shinobi tossed the money bag up and down before place it firmly on the table.

"I bet that by the end of next month he would able to become a full husband. Who's in?"

The rest of the group looked at each other hesitantly before the shinobi with the scar on his face pulled a bag of money and put in on the table.

"I'm in. We have watched them for more than one month already. If anything could happen, it would have already happened. I have watched him closely; he is really clueless about girls and stuff. There is no way he will be able to do anything in such a short amount of time."

The monkey face shinobi crossed his legs and drank a whole sake bottle before he laughed,

"He is the number one surprising ninja, after all; we would never know. Before we assumed that he would score her in a matter of one second; considering he is the most powerful shinobi in the village, a natural pervert and a student of the two most perverted men of our village. Look, more than one month has passed, and all that he could do is to kiss her on her cheeks or forehead."

They both laughed loudly before calling for more drinks. Naruto frowned; he didn't know what was going on, but he felt a little blood boiling in his stomach. He had no idea who they were talking about and although he felt sorry for the poor shinobi, he could not help but feel that the story sounded very familiar. Maybe he knew the guy. He hoped it was not Kakashi-sensei or Sasuke, or he would crash right into those ignorant shinobies faces and teach them a lesson. He listened more carefully as a shinobi with a baby face asked,

"If so, why do you bet confidently that he would become a real husband in just one month?"

The monkey face shinobi laughed before continued,

"Like I said; he is a very unpredictable shinobi. When we think of him one way, he would become the other. That's the way it is. Moreover, don't forget the army of the Hokage. Their forces are fifty times larger than Hiashi's. Don't underestimate them and that Hokage-sama is one of the most intelligent shinobi in this land. Sooner or later, he'll know."

Naruto clenched his fist. Somehow even Ba-chan and Otou-chan were involved with this famous shinobi. Now he really wanted to know what was going on. He felt so angry at the fact that everyone knew something that he was totally clueless of.

The pale faced shinobi got another drink before he himself joined the conversation:

"My sentiment exactly the same. The problem is whether we could get the timing right. Mine is a little too early, but maybe you will be luckier."

The monkey faces shinobi slipped himself another drink. He leaned closer to the group and talked in a lower voice:

"Do you know who will always win in this kind of bet with or without luck?" Satisfied with the curious looks in his friends' eyes, he answered, "Hokage-sama has won tons of money from betting about Naruto's marriage, consider that she is the one behind pulling all of the strings. I believe she will decide when and how he will make Hinata truly his wife."

"So you mean all of the crisis going on lately is part of Tsunade-sama's plan? And she intentionally delayed letting Naruto know how to become a true husband so that she could win more bets and earn more money?"

Before the monkey ninja could answer, the table was smashed into pieces by Naruto-he was angry beyond recognition. The whiskers were clearer and marked into his face deeper. His eyes had changed into red. He ordered in a deep and low tone:

"Tell me what happened. Tell me what you mean by Ba-chan betting on my marriage and being behind all the scenes." He grabbed the shirt of the monkey ninja, "I don't know what is going on, but I'm not going to allow you to slander Ba-chan like that."

"Slander your Ba-chan like what?" Sasuke smirked, "Naruto, you haven't changed one bit. It seems like you are still as naive as ever."

As Sasuke turned his back and began to leave, Naruto called out, "Sasuke, wait. What do you want from this?" and started to run after Sasuke. They ran deep into a forest and Sasuke continued to run with his full speed despite Naruto's constant cries for him to stop.

He slowed down and let Naruto catch him as they headed toward a deserted training ground.

"Where have you led me to, Sasuke? What do you want? Why did you let me hear those lies about Ba-chan?"

Sasuke turned his face toward Naruto; this time he let his smirk stay on his face a little longer. He looked into Naruto's eyes. They were confused but still as clear as ever; there were no traces of doubt in it. How he loved to taint those eyes, make them full of hurt and pain, as dark as the night, no light, no hope! How he loved to see the man in front of him turned into the monster he really was and destroyed those that he loved the most, those that he treasured the most so that he would live the rest of his life in darkness and solitude, full of despair and resentment. Yes, it was only fair that the man in front of him lived in the same hell as he did. Just a little longer and he could see if his words worked the way out.

"Naruto", Sasuke slowly placed a hand on Naruto shoulder; he leaned closer and whispered into Naruto's ear, "You are no different than the kid seven years ago. Naive and stupid. You believe in every word that people pour into your ears and swallow them like they are the most delicious food you have ever eaten."

Naruto firmly shook Sasuke's hand away. He looked deep into Sasuke' eyes. His face remained cold and emotionless, unaffected by Sasuke insults,

"Stop your nonsense. What do you want, Sasuke? What are you trying to do?"

Sasuke massaged his hands together and leaned his back toward a tree.

"Oh, continuing to play hero, I see. But do you think the village really thinks you are as their hero? Did you just hear what they said? You are just a fool they use for their bets; no more, no less. To them, you are no different than the prank puller you were seven years ago. But now they are not throwing their hate at you, but pretend to be your friends, pretend that they love you so that they could take advantage of you a little longer; so that they could see how much a fool you've turned out to be. They laugh behind your back and you still think they admire you with all of their hearts." He laughed deep in his throat before continuing, "What a joke".

But before he could say anything else, Naruto grabbed his shirt and pushed him harshly toward the tree behind,

"Sasuke, you can insult me to no end and I could care less, but I will not allow you to insult my friends and my village any further."

"Your friends and your village?" Sasuke mocked. He placed his hands on Naruto and slowly took them off. "I don't know what you are talking about; you have no friend, Naruto. No one considers you their friend. And you have no village either. They never consider you a part of the village in the first place and even now. You are just a weapon; a monster they are afraid of. The more powerful you are, the more they are afraid of you. Before they still had enough courage to show you their hate, but now you have become too powerful. They don't even dare to tremble in front of you."

Still seeing no response from Naruto, Sasuke continued,

"Yes, they are too afraid of you that they don't even dare to show you their fear. Instead, they put a mask on their faces and lie to you instead."

Naruto grabbed Sasuke collars and calmly told him in a deep and serious tone,

"One more word and I will crush you into pieces." Naruto let his Kyuubi's chakra flow into Sasuke's body, paralyzing his body completely, "Do you fear of me now?" Naruto pressed some of his chakra onto Sasuke's skin, threatening to cut him deep into the bone. Sasuke had gone too far; this was the time to teach him some lesson, to show him his ragging anger,

"Sasuke, you always hate to feel inferior, don't you? That's why you never accept me, you never recognize me. You always hate to feel helpless, don't you? That's why you keep seeking more power. Before I also feel inferior to you; that's why I keep chasing after you, asking you to recognize me. But now I understand that no matter how much I chasing after you I did you would never recognize me. Because.." Naruto looked at Sasuke with sad and sympathetic eyes, "because you always feel inferior to me..."

Sasuke's chakra suddenly raised rapidly and pushed all of the Kyuubi's chakra away. He pinned Naruto against a tree,

"I am the one who feels inferior to you?" He laughed, "To you, the one who is blinded by lies from ones who are considered friends and family? You are living in an illusion, Naruto. You think that everyone loves you but the truth is they hate you deep in their hearts; they lie to you so that they could keep their lives and they can take advantage of you for their own good."

"Your slander will do nothing against me. I believe in them. They are people who believe in me and recognize me. No lie will affect my resolve."

"Really?" Sasuke smirked, "You are confused now, aren't you? There are many things you don't know, do you? For example, how to become a real husband?"

"What are you talking about, Sasuke? Of course I know how to become a husband; I have been properly educated by Otou-chan."

Sasuke laughed in a high and pitched tone, "Naruto," he waved his arms harshly, "Did you hear what the others talking about you, about your relationships? Are you dead stupid? How old are you now? Nineteen! And still don't know how to kiss a girl properly? What did you do yesterday, trying to kiss her the same way you had been kissed by a guy seven years ago? Do you have the brain of a third grade kid?"

As Naruto's face burned bright red, his blood boiled faster by the second,

"Shut up, Sasuke. My marriage is none of your business. And how dare you spy on us?" Thinking of Sasuke spying on their daily life and even watching Hinata when she... Naruto clenched his fists. Unforgivable. No one was allowed to look at Hinata in an improper way. He would kill any man who dared to look at her...to see her..._that way_...even if that man was his best friend.

Like he was able to read Naruto's thought, Sasuke smirked again,

"Don't worry, Naruto. I didn't take a glance of your dear wife, but I couldn't guarantee other's would not. Neji, for example. I wonder how many times he has watched her get out of the bathroom, in her..."

Naruto couldn't stand it anymore, he punched Sasuke right into his face, sending him several feet away.. Sasuke wiped out his blood on his mouth and widened his smirk,

"But I am afraid that, seeing her get out of the bathroom was only the smallest thing he is able to do. I wonder how far they have gone in their _cousin _relationship. Certainly much farther than you do as a husband. He might be able to become a much better husband than you are, or maybe...", Sasuke paused before he pressed the words, "he is already a better husband than you are."

Naruto's blood had boiled too fast to control. His whole body was on fire. He was not sure where Sasuke wanted to get him to, but his words were killing him slowly and badly. He didn't want to hear any of his poisonous words or he would go crazy and be unable to control his temper.

"SHUT UP. I SAID SHUT UP." Naruto covered his ears,

"Truth hurts, Naruto. But as your best friend, I have to let you know." Now Sasuke's tone changed into a caring and concerned voice, but all Naruto could feel was mockery and cruel intents. However, to Naruto's dismay, Sasuke's voice kept pouring into Naruto's unwilling ears, unwanted words torturing it and hurting it until it would be exploded into thousand pieces,

"Naruto, let me tell you the whole truth beginning with your marriage. Do you know why your dear Ba-chan forced you into the marriage? It is because she lost a bet to Hiashi. And do you know why Hiashi wanted you to become his son-in-law?"

Sasuke paused again, watching Naruto's face. Seeing Naruto in such dismay and pain was the best. Oh, the sun was begun to die. When you shut down its sources, the sun wouldn't be able to shine ever again. And when the sun died, the trees and other livings would die with it, letting the land wither and be covered in darkness and despair. He would finish the sun after that, only after it had suffered the same fate as him, only after it suffered worse fate than him.

"Naruto, it is because he knows how much a fool you are. He needs you to shoo away any unwanted suitors so that his nephew and his daughter could do their deeds."

"ENOUGH! I SAID ENOUGH! IF YOU DON'T SHUT YOUR MOUTH UP I WILL KILL YOU!"

Suddenly, Sasuke smiled and muttered something to himself, "Just in time" or something like that.

"Naruto, if you don't believe me why don't you see everything with your own eyes and question them with your own mouth?"

* * *

><p>Sasuke turned away and walked into a small path, signaling Naruto to follow him. They went deeper into the training ground, turning into a small path that led into another training ground. Sasuke stayed behind a tree and pointed to Naruto to the scene unfolding before them.<p>

"They lied to you. All of them; your Ba-chan, your Otou-chan, your friends, and especially your precious wife. They all poured into your ears sweetness and honey while the truth is that they hate you deep in their hearts and want nothing more than your death so that they wouldn't have to lie anymore, wouldn't have to pretend anymore, so that they could be with the ones they really want to be with.

Hinata was leaning her head against Neji's shoulder, while Neji himself turned her around and kissed on her forehead. He then looked close into her eyes and leaned closer with an attempt to kiss her on her lips.

The whole world whirled around Naruto's head; past, present, future, friends, enemies. He didn't know what was what, who was who anymore. He didn't know who to trust and what to do anymore. It seemed like everything he had done and had experienced was all a dream, an illusion. His body moved on its own, following his most dark and wicked thought, threatening to destroy all that he had believed and hoped for.

He punched Neji on the ground and ready to give him the final blow before he was thrown out by a gentle kick from no one other than Hinata.

Hinata panted heavily, still in her defensive stand,

"N-Naruto-kun, what are you doing?" Suddenly aware of her offensive position, she rushed to Naruto and tried to touch his hand.

"Are you ok, Naruto-kun? I'm sorry; I just acted on my instinct. But what are you trying to do Naruto? You almost..."

Naruto coldly shook her hands away. He looked deep into her eyes, hurt and pain still evident in his eyes,

"Why did you marry me, Hinata?"

Hinata stood dumbfound, completely surprised by the question. Why, he asked. How could she answer him? That she wanted to be with him so badly that she didn't need to think before saying yes when her father asked her into the marriage. But now that he asked her, it meant that he had regrets about marrying her. So it was true; he still loved Sakura. How she should answer him now? Just tell him the truth. Whatever would happen, just be true to herself and she would be fine; that what he had told her. That was their nindo.

"Because…Naruto-kun…my father told me you asked me…*blush*…to become your wife, and…I said yes…because I really like you, I always…"

"Stop it. Tell me no more lie…"

Hinata looked at Naruto, full of confused. Naruto was very strange today. His eyes now were full of anger and hurt. What did she do to offend him so much?

"Naruto-kun, what happened?"

"I never asked to take your hand in marriage."

Her heart beat fast at the sudden news. She always had the doubt. No, actually, deep into her heart she always knew her father was the one who arranged her marriage and by some unknown means he had successfully forced Naruto into it. She felt so filthy about herself; she had conspired with her father to deceive him, interfering with his life and his happiness.

"Naruto-kun, I'm sorry."

"You are sorry!" Naruto cried in his high, strange, distant voice, "And here I am, agreeing to marry you because Ba-chan told me you would be married off to an old man from the Land of Storm if I didn't do so."

"The Land of Storm?" What was Naruto-kun talking about?

Seeing Hinata's confused face, Naruto's suspicions were confirmed. Just one more time. He didn't want to accept this truth completely so he would ask her one more time. Maybe she forgot; maybe she didn't want to remember all of those bad memories. Naruto grabbed Hinata's arm, his hand trembling in fear of the anticipated truth while his voice still shaking with anger and sadness,

"You know, Hinata; before we got married, your father forced you to married an old man in the Land of Storm. The land that was surrounded all year with storm. The land where no one could survive even for just one month. The land where…"

Naruto's voice trailed off as confusion and guilt became evident in Hinata's eyes. Naruto could not stop himself as the pain grew stronger and stronger, threatening to slice his heart into pieces. He hugged Hinata tightly; his voice was strong and low as he asked her one last time, trying to confirm the truth one last time.

"So there is no land of storm? No arranged marriage?" Naruto tightened his hold, his voice now sounded desperate and cracking, "Hinata, please try to remember. Please tell me that you remember now."

That was when Neji placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, shaking his head,

"Naruto, get off Hinata now. She doesn't know anything about it. It is between Hiashi-sama and Tsunade-sama only. Hinata doesn't play any part in it."

Suddenly anger devoured Naruto completely, he never hate someone that strongly before. He felt like Neji was the source of all of his unpleasant feelings now. He was the one that would take away all of his happiness, take away his Hinata. He released Hinata and took some steps back away from her. He turned his head toward Neji, clenching his fist,

"So you know the truth. You are the one behind all of these."

"All that I know is that Hiashi-sama asked Tsunade-sama to arrange the marriage; how she asked you into the marriage I didn't know. But Hinata didn't know anything about it. All Hiashi-sama told her was that Naruto asked her to marry him. She was totally unaware of all the hidden plans between them."

"What are those hidden plans?" Naruto asked in a calm and authorizing tone, but he still could not hide the anger and distress behind it.

Neji hesitated before answering. Naruto was truly not himself today. To Neji and other shinobi of the village, Naruto was their leader; they respected Naruto greatly and would follow him no matter what. Naruto never asked or ordered them anything, but if he did, they would even sacrifice their lives to complete his wish. However, Naruto always treated them as friends and family; never thinking of himself as superior to them. This was the first time Naruto used this authorizing voice to Neji, firmly ordered him to answer his question. And…before…Didn't Naruto just want to kill him?

A chill ran through Neji spine. This was the first time Neji was afraid of Naruto, but ironically if Naruto wanted to kill him, he would be happy to comply with it. He wasn't afraid to die for Naruto or to die by his hand. The sudden realization shook Neji to his core. When he had faced the difference between death and life, he suddenly realize how much he admired and respected Naruto; that he always looked up to him and considered him as a family member, or something even more; the core of the village, the foundation of his existence.

Neji looked at Hinata again. The mere sight of her face, of her presence, never failed to speed his heart's race, to make his blood boil in excitement and happiness. But if to be with her would betray Naruto, he could not do that. If he had to choose, he would choose the village; he would choose Naruto. And someone like him could not make Hinata happy anyway. She only loved one person and one person alone; and that person was not him. Love; finally he could understand it a little. Before he was afraid for Hinata that Naruto was not in love with her, but now he knew for sure Naruto was madly in love with her, and he might even love her more than Neji did.

Now Neji would be honest with Naruto, telling him everything. He, after all, could never lie to Naruto. If it was Naruto, he would know what to do and he would make Hinata happy. That he knew for sure.

"Naruto, Hiashi-sama wanted your marriage for some personal reason, so he had tricked Tsunade-sama into a bet and made her agree to arrange the marriage for him."

"So it is true." Naruto voice became higher as his anger reached its limit. He waved his hand, pounded it hardly on his chest, "So it is true that you lied to me all of these time; tricked me into this marriage so that you two could do your deed, being together for your personal means."

Naruto grabbed Hinata's shoulder and shook her roughly,

"Answer me. Is this true? Is this true that you just took advantage of me so that you could be with Neji to do this?" He waved his hands around the training ground.

Hinata mistook that Naruto was implying the training between her and Neji; so that why he was angry. He was upset because she hadn't told him about her special training with Neji yet.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, for not telling you about this."

"So this is true." Naruto's heart ached so badly that tears threatened to burst out at any moment. He clenched his T-shirt, right where his heart was. He looked at Neji,

"So Otou-chan's speech about marriage was all bullshit, lies, so that I and other men will not get close to her, so that you and her could…" He could not finish the sentence; the pain was too much for him to handle.

Neji nodded, guilt evident in his eyes. So that was true. Naruto's whole world tumbled before his eyes. All that he had believed in, had treasured, were lies, deceit, and illusions.

Sasuke smirked. The plan had gone better than he imagined. Those idiots just acted exactly like he expected them to.

'Kill them now, Naruto. Kill them with your own hands. Then go berserk and kill the whole village. Kill everyone that's important to you with your own hands. Then I will tell you the truth and make you live in loneliness and regret for the rest of your live. You will curse yourself and wish for your death, but I will not let you die that easily. I will make you live in a hell that is even worse than mine. I'll never let a single light shine your way.'

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **As the story reaches the climax, it becomes more difficult to write. So it will take longer to be updated. But I do want to complete this story, in fact I want to complete it ASAP.


	13. Feelings that do not reach

**A/N**:

First thanks to **Pyocola Analogue III** for beta this story.

Second thanks to all of the reviews and Naruto's latest chapters that I actually sat my ass before the computer and started writing. Thanks to the promising to have a Naruto vs Sasuke fight soon in the manga that I have begun to write the ending.

As far as the story goes, this chapter, the resolution chapter, and the ending chapter. So two more chapters and this story will have 15 chapters as originally intended.

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><p>'Kill them now, and dig your own way to hell, Naruto. DO IT NOW, damn it!'<p>

Naruto looked at Hinata one last time and then he realized it. He realized what love really was. If he had another chance, he would treasure her even more; would spend hours just to look at her, would do nothing but gaze into her beautiful eyes, would cook for her every day, would spend time with her all day. He would do everything just to earn a smile of hers at him. He would do everything just to make her happy. Too late now. Everything was an illusion. But his love for her was not, and that was what was important.

"I do not want to see you, ever again."

With that he turned his back and left.

'Why? Why don't you kill them, Naruto? They betrayed you, they lied to you, they took advantage of you; so why don't you just kill them?'

Sasuke covered his head with his hands. 'Stupid Naruto. Why didn't he do as expected? Why doesn't he hate them and kill them?'

Sasuke inhaled deeply and tried to keep his calm. He had to be calm now. He had underestimated Naruto. He should have guessed that bastard would never do something like that, but what irritated him the most was Naruto's chakra. There was times when it was full of anger but never hate, and now it became calmer... and sadder but not hateful. There was not a slight sign of hate in his chakra. It was still as calm and as bright as ever.

'What? What should I do now to destroy you forever, Naruto?' There was an option. Sasuke smirked. If Naruto didn't kill them with his own hands, of course Sasuke could help him and then frame it to Naruto. Taking the two of them at the same time could be a little hard with his condition, but he could take out Hinata alone no problem, then turn the table on his side, making the Hyuuga clan an enemy of Naruto. He could even start a civil war this way. That was a perfect plan. But... but something missing here. He forgot something; something important.

The sun was so bright. The brighter the sun was, the more lively everything under it, but it was also because of everything under it longing for its light that the sun was brighter and brighter. The sun had supports everywhere. Everyone loved the sun. Everyone trusted the sun. They would do anything and everything to make the sun happy.

No, even if he could start a civil war and destroy half of the village, the sun would continue to shine. The sun would fix it all. The sun would bring them together again. And himself, if the sun knew he was the one who killed his beloved, the sun would kill him this time for sure. He was not afraid of death, but he didn't want to die like that. In vain, pointlessly, and by the sun's hand. No. He was so weak. Weak creatures could not do anything.

Sasuke's put one hand over his eye. His eyes, his Sharingan, his pride; the only remnant of the Uchiha clan was taken away by Naruto. The seal Naruto put on his eyes was so strong that even after two years, Sasuke was still unable to activate his Sharingan again. Maybe he wouldn't be able to activate it for the rest of his life if he continued to live in the village. If he continued to live in the village... He had to get out of this hell first, find a way to fix his eyes later, and then when he could have his Enternal Mangekou Sharingan returned. Once he regained his power and gathered enough supports, he would come back again. This time when he had equal power and supports as Naruto, he would crush him and his detestable village once and for all. That was right; any plan now would be in vain if he didn't have enough power. He had to be patient. He had to go seeking for more power. But how to get out of the village while Naruto and his friends always kept a close eye on him? How could he distract them long enough for his escape? He smirked.

XxXxXxXx

Sakura picked up the last herb she just gathered and put it in the basket. That was enough for now. She would make some energy pills for Naruto. She smiled. That baka always worked too hard. She sighed. Did he eat well? Did he eat more vegetables? Did he have enough nutrition? She really wanted to take care of him, but now... he had his wife... He wouldn't need her anymore. Sakura wiped her unborn tears away. That was right. She need not to worry about that baka anymore. She should spend more time trying to find a boyfriend; one that was much, much better than Naruto. Tears welled in her eyes again. Would there be any one that was better than Naruto? Even if there was, she wouldn't want any of them.

"Feeling so sad that your prince is now owned by another woman, huh?"

Sakura turned around to face Sasuke. Sakura tightened her grips. She had a bad feeling; whatever he was up to was no good. She would never bring herself to truly trust this man although he was one of her best friends, her childhood crush, the one she used to love and admire. She asked him rudely,

"What do you want, Sasuke?"

"I just want to tell you some good news. You still have a chance to score with Naruto."

She grabbed Sasuke's shirt and pushed him against a tree,

"Shut your crap up and get the hell out of here. Don't you dare start anything against Naruto!"

Sasuke raised his hands up to both sides, "Calm down. I am not the one who hurt Naruto but his wife."

"Hinata?" Sakura asked in surprise. How could Hinata do something to hurt Naruto? It was unthinkable. She tightened her grip and pushed Sasuke further back into the tree. "Do not lie. I know you are up to no good. I would not believe any of your crap."

"Shouldn't you?" Suddenly Sasuke pushed Sakura away and fixed his shirt. "Instead of staying there and questioning me, you should go and check on your prince a bit, make sure he would not jump down from a mountain or something like that."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the sweet Hinata is actually in love with her cousin and the whole marriage thing is just a cover up so that they could be together."

Sakura punched hard into the tree just a few inches from Sasuke's face,

"Shut your crap up, or you will have the same fate with this tree..."

"Like I said, you should be hurrying. Naruto seems to love his wife a lot, don't blame me if he throws himself out of a mountain or something like that..."

'_Naruto_.' Sakura ran like crazy out of the forest; she was so worried about Naruto and did not notice the smirk formed on Sasuke's face as she rushed out of the forest.

XxXxXxXx

Naruto raised his hand and caught the falling leaves, feeling the way they slipped through his hand and fell to the ground. Now that he became calmer, he immediately regretted the way he treated Hinata and Neji. To say such cruel things to them, and...even to have the desire to hurt them. He wanted to protect them, protect the village, always, to see everyone smiling and laughing, and to smile and laugh with them. So why...? Why did they lie to him? Why did they play with his emotion?...

Why?...He clenched his shirt to kept his heart from aching and aching harder each time he thought back at the way Neji and Hinata were sitting together, kissing...So this was love. And it hurt. No wonder shinobies nowadays didn't love anymore. Ninja were supposed to be emotionless so that they could take on missions with 100 percent chance of success. Carry out emotion like love made them more vulnerable and distracted.

Naruto folded his hands behind his back and looked at the sky. Maybe he shouldn't have falled in love with her in the first place. It distracted him and made him more unstable than usual. A breeze softly brought the freshness into his face, and he smiled; but he had been very happy with her, with everyone, with the village and maybe that was what really important.

"_So you finally realize it, huh, kid?"_

_Naruto looked at the Kyuubi, "You knew it all the time but you never told me?"_

"_You need to realize it yourselves, otherwise it has no meaning."_

"_I could have killed Neji and Hinata, and you would just look at it as it happens?'" _

"_When it comes to that point, you just have to be responsible to what you do."_

_Naruto scratched his head and grinned, "Let me lend your power a little bit, I want to confirm it."_

Naruto borrowed the Kyuubi charka and turned into the Kyuubi mode, he inhaled deeply and began to send the Kyuubi chakra around the village and sensed the whole surrounding.

Warm. Happy. Refresh. Love. Trust. Loyalty. Not a single trace of hate, or darkness, or deceite. _Everyone. _Tears welled in his eyes. _Sorry everyone, for doubting in you all. Sorry for not trusting you._

"_So what will you do, Kid?"_

"_About what?"_

"_About the girl?"_

Naruto looked at the village from the top, he sighed, "I don't know. I don't know about her feelings and I am not sure about mine. I..."

"_Stay away from her. She is not healthy for you. When you are with her and in what they call love, you lose your cool and temper; you become easier to be manipulated_ _and trapped. We are strong, very strong, but if your heart was disturbed and easily swayed, we cannot remain strong forever. She is our weakness as one of our enemies already tried to explore in. The closer she is to you, the more dangerous to us and her also, and even the village. Those who have great power are destined to be alone, do you know that?"_

"Naruto. Naruto." Sakura yelled as she rushed to where he was. When she came close to him, she suddenly punched him hard and sent him several feet away, "Naruto, you baka!"

Tears fell like rain down her face, she sobbed, "Do you know how much I have worried for you?"

"Sakura-chan." Naruto got close to her, completely confused, "What?"

Suddenly Sakura hugged him and held him tight, "Naruto, Naruto..." She continued to sob uncontrollable. "I...I was so worried! I was afraid that you would throw yourself off of a mountain or something like that!"

Naruto laughed and looked at Sakura, "Why would I have to do something like that? Do I look like a suicidal type?"

Sakura tightened her hold and placed her head on his chest, "Baka. If you throw yourself off of a mountain, I will throw myself off of it too."

"Sakura-chan, you..."

"Naruto, I love you." With that Sakura grabbed Naruto's head and kissed him fully on his lips. Naruto was completely dumbfounded as the sudden turn of event. His body paralyzed, and he could not move a single muscle. His mind went blank at the shock. Even he had fantasized this since he was a little, the feeling now was not pleasant at all. This was wrong; definitely wrong. Although he knew nothing of marriage, certainly married men didn't just go out and kiss random women. But then, she was not a random person. She was special.

Naruto mentally shook his head. This was definitely wrong because he was in love with Hinata, and this time he knew for sure men that were in love did not just go out and kiss the girl that he was not in love. No... People in love did not go off and kiss any person other than the one they love. But... Hinata... She... She was going to kiss Neji... That must mean he was not the one she loved, never had. His heart clenched painfully again. The hurt was so great that he felt the sudden need to have someone by his side to get comfort from. He unconsciously grabbed Sakura's head closer and deepened the kiss.

As Sakura licked his lips lightly, asking for an entrance. Naruto was hesitant for a moment. This was wrong, definitely wrong, because no matter what Hinata did he was still in love with her and people in love did not just go off and kiss people that they were not in love with; whether the one they were in love with loved them back or not. This was even more wrong since he was using Sakura as a replacement of Hinata while Sakura was an important person to him too. But...Sakura tightened her hold when she felt no response from him; she clutched at his shirt and she trembled helplessly in his arms like she was afraid he would let go, that he would break off the kiss, and that if it happened she would be destroyed; be crumbled in pieces, broken in despair. Naruto never saw Sakura like this, and he did not like it one bit. He just wanted to do anything, anything, to make her feel better, to stop her from trembling like this, so he opened his mouth and let her in.

XxXxXxXx

He was just pitying her. Tears fell down her cheeks again. She knew it; she knew that she had no place in his heart now, but she could not stop it. He was a very kind person; to be that nice with such a terrible person as herself. She explored his mouth fully. Just this one time, even if it was out of pity, she wanted to be with him this one time.

XxXxXx

"Such a wonderful scene to see, right, Hinata?"

Sasuke smirked and looked at the girl next to him. Only one word; pathetic. Her body was shaking in shock and sadness. She intertwined her fingers together and bit her lower lip harshly, trying to contain her tears. Seeing weak creatures like this disgusted him to no end. He just wanted to stabbed her and end her pathetic life right here but he had to be patient; stabbing her right now only gave him temporary effects and his chance to escape was lower than if he did otherwise. Later he would kill her for sure. She was an important person to _him_. Therefore, she must die. And maybe he could... Sasuke licked his lips lightly... Maybe he could taste her sweet body before sending her to hell, but that had to wait; he still had a lot of time, after all. He would make sure to do everything in his power to make Naruto suffer, everything... but that had to wait.

"You are such a terrible person, you know, Hinata."

Hinata looked at Sasuke in dismay. He smirked and tilted her chin up, turning her face toward the couple, "Look, Hinata. Do you see that? Do you see how much they are in love with one another? How could you do something as terrible as to come in as a third person and break them up?"

Hinata clenched her fists, biting her lower lip harder, and tried gathering all of her energy to stop herself crying in front of him. That would only add to his amusement, and Hinata didn't want to satisfy the man in front of her with her miseries. She tried to turn her head away but Sasuke tightened his grip on her chin, not letting her do as she pleased.

Then he slowly turned her head to face his, forcing her to look into his eyes, "Hinata, you knew very well from the beginning that they love each other, didn't you? But you are so selfish, you want him all for yourself; that is why you said yes when your father asked you to marry him."

"N-no, t-that's n-not it." Hinata protested, trying her best to get out of his hold but everything was in vain.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Sasuke shook his head, "That was not good, Hinata; you should listen to your friend when he talks because he means you well. You should not escape reality any further. You are a bad person, you have to admit it. Right now, right here, you want to run over there and break them up, don't you? You want to slap Sakura and Naruto hard in their faces, don't you? But do you have the right to? You are the third person that came into their lives. You are not worthy of being his wife; the whole marriage was a set up from your father because he wanted to keep his face."

Hinata eyes widened bewilderingly,

"What do you mean? Otou-san..."

Sasuke laughed sarcastically, "Don't try to be so innocent, Hinata. That would only work for idiots like Naruto; like I would believe that you knew nothing behind your marriage."

"J-just r-recently, I-I k-knew that Otou-san was behind it for some reason, I-...I really didn't know anything before the wedding, I..."

"Stop lying to yourselves." Sasuke leaned closer and whiffed, "You are not a stupid woman; you have enough intelligent to know that Naruto would never ask you to marry him unless he was forced or tricked. But you still accepted the offer because you are a selfish person and you want to have him even though you know he is not in love with you. With that you have broken two people who are in love with one another; you have broken Naruto's true happiness."

Hinata forcefully jumped back, breaking out of Sasuke's control. She covered her ears and cried,

"That's not true! That's not true! Stop it! I don't want to hear another word!"

But Sasuke pinned her arms to the tree,

"Do you know why your father wanted the marriage? It is because he heard that one of his very, very distant relative had his daughter already married, so to keep his pride he had you married too. Just that; just to keep his face Naruto has to marry you, has to change his life to you, has to give up on his true love. And what does he get? A decorated marriage only; he could not even touch you because your father had deliberately lied to him, keeping him away from you. Poor Naruto, his future is doom with you; he would never have an heir for himself, and he has to live with the one he does not love for the rest of his life."

Hinata broke the hold and ran away, but no matter how fast she was, Sasuke was always right beside her, continued to torture her with merciless and cruel words,

"Yes, run, run. You should run away from Naruto. That way he can find his true happiness. Being with you only brings sadness and misfortune to him. Get away from him, forever, do never meet him again. Get away from here, no one wants you here. If you want Naruto to be happy then leave. Go to a faraway land where no one knows you, and never come back.

Sasuke stopped and smirked as Hinata's back faded faster and faster away from him.

'Yes. Run away. Run away from the sun. And I will run away, too, from the run."

XxXxXxXx

"Naruto, thank you."

Naruto looked at Sakura sadly, "Sakura...I..."

Sakura clasped her hands behind her back and smile: "I understand. You do not love me."

She spun around, not letting him see tears falling like rain down her cheek,

"I understand Naruto." She quickly wiped her tears way before turning to face him,

"You really make a fool out of me, don't you, Naruto?" She smiled again, "It's so embarrassing to be rejected by the same person twice."

"Sakura, I..." Naruto looked away,

Sakura hugged him again,

"Naruto, I love you. It is not a childish crush. I will love you, always, no matter whom you choose, no matter what happens. You will always have a special place in my heart. That's why I want you to be happy. I want you to be with the one you truly love. I know you love Hinata. I can sense it. Go find her. Go after her and find your true happiness because when you are happy, I am happy too."

Naruto let a single tear fall on his cheek,

"Sakura, thank you."

As he turned his back away and left, he said,

"You know what Sakura, I loved you, too. But before, when Sasuke came back, I thought that you would be happy with him, so I decided to give up on you. I asked Tsunade-Ba-chan to give me as many S-rank missions as possible so that I could leave the village constantly and forget about you, and give you the opportunities to be with Sasuke. I never knew that you... Sorry Sakura, but now I love Hinata."

With that he left.

A soft breeze blew the cherry flower off the tree and landed it right into Sakura's hands. She smiled while letting tears fall freely on her already dampened cheeks:

"Naruto, you're really a very kind person. Love is a mystery thing, isn't it? If the timing is wrong, if you take the wrong time to realize your feelings and feelings of the other, you could never catch love."

XxXxXxXx

"How many times do I have to go through this again?" Naruto looked at the guards furiously.

"Why the hell do I always have to spend hours in front of this house just to ask permission to meet my own wife?"

"Naruto-sama, we really don't know where Hinata-sama is. She has not come home since this morning."

Naruto pointed his finger toward them and cried out,

"You liar! I will not fall to your trap again! You just don't want me to meet her, do you?"

"Really, Naruto-sama, Hinata-sama is really not home."

"Naruto, I have bad news."

Naruto frowned as Neji came closer to him. He hadn't forgotten about what happened this morning yet, and he still felt anger boiling in his blood whenever he thought about Neji and Hinata,

"Shut up, you just want to keep me away from her, don't you?"

Naruto grabbed Neji's shirt, "You were with her this morning. You must know where she is now. I need to talk to her. Don't you dare to hide her from me."

"That's what I was just about to tell you. She hasn't come home since we parted after the training. When I went around and asked, the guards at the village gate said that she left the village several hours ago. When I asked the Hokage, she said she hadn't assigned any mission to Hinata. Usually when she needed to go somewhere she would let me know. It has been several hours and I still haven't heard anything from her. I think there must be something wrong."

"A lot of things are indeed wrong." Now, perfect, Sasuke decided to show his face just in time for the show and further spoiled anything. Naruto clenched his fists as Sasuke continued, "For example, today, at the forest near the village, I have seen Hinata crying her heart out. I cannot chase after, but then I have seen a very interesting scene." He looked at Naruto and smirked, "Naruto, I didn't know a baka like you could be such a playboy."

Naruto's heart stopped for a second. It could not be... He ran toward the Hokage's office and yelled back to Neji:

"Neji, gather all the Hyuuga and begin to search for Hinata immediately."

"_Kid, let her go. She is not healthy for you. You might fall into another trap because of her. You'll lose your cool again. Give her up._"

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><p><strong>AN:** Cliche? I know, it's not like I'm out of ideas or anything like that it's just some of the scenes especially the kiss is needed for plot advancement and to resolve some of the characters' emotional conflicts. So now we have Neji and Sakura out of the place, next chapter heading for some real Naruhina's goodiness, can't wait to share, but need to send it to beta first. So probably next week.

I can't believe it, I almost finish this story, just need to write the ending which appears to be super long, but anyway.


	14. Finally! Feelings that can reach

**A/N:**

This is updated sooner than expected all thanks to **Pyocola Analogue**. It's a little short, but it needs to end right there, so yeah. Next chapter is the ending, it might be very long. I'm writing it right now so expect a two week update, maybe sooner if we are lucky.

I'm very curious when reading all of your review to know who is hated the most in this story, so I pull out a poll in my profile. You can vote for multiple people. For example, you can click on both Tsunade and Sasuke if you hate both of them. It's for characters in my story only, it's best to not include characters that you do not like in Naruto as a whole. So take a look at the poll in my profile and vote if you have time.

(9/7/11)

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><p>"What do you mean you can't?" Naruto asked angrily, smashing the Hokage's table in two.<p>

"You have to pay for that later." Tsunade calmly drank her sake.

"Don't joke around with me, Ba-Chan. I don't like to repeat myself; gather all the men we have now and search for her immediately."

Tsunade put the sake bottle down and looked at Naruto. He was indeed very angry; he had never used this tone with her before. She was the Hokage, for God's sake! At least show her some of the respect she deserved.

"Naruto, you need to calm down. I cannot send an army just to search for your wife; shinobies are used for the village's well being, not for personal deeds. We need our shinobi here in case of emergency or when something is out of hand. Everyone has their own use for the village, even when they are not on missions."

Naruto's body was now trembling with anger,

"Don't talk like that with such high dignity. You use your power for personal deeds all the time too. You think I don't know the truth behind my marriage? And you even bet on the status of my marriage too."

Tsunade blushed. She said in excitement, "Oh, so you know. You are such a lucky man, Naruto; you cannot believe how much we have won betting on your marriage. I can proudly tell you that we have earned enough money to pay back all the remaining debt, so working on the book is not necessary, but of course it's always good to earn some extra money for future gambling..."

"Ba-Chan!" Naruto could not believe it. He couldn't understand why she was still able to joke around. Each second passing to him was now like years. He should probably just go ahead and search for her by himself, although the chance to find her was reduced by half. He had no time now; he had to find her. He had wasted too much time on baka Ba-Chan.

As he turned his back and left, Tsunade spoke in her serious voice:

"All right, I'll send all my men to find her, but you must be aware of the consequences of your rash behaviors. You cannot be a leader like this, acting on your emotions alone. Many lives are at stake when you become a Hokage; unable to control your temper and rational thinking will put many people in danger. All that I ever did to you was to train you, making you stronger. When you become a Hokage, you have to deal with negative emotions. Your faith and belief will be put at stake but you have to overcome all of it; you have to believe in your comrades and protect them. Do you understand?

"I understand, Ba-Chan. Thank you."

XxXxXxXxXx

Naruto released his mass clones and searched for Hinata like crazy for three days and three night straight, but everything was in vain. He lost her. This time he lost her for sure...If he had a chance to meet her again He would tell her...

"_Naruto...Naruto...Do you hear me?"_ Shikamaru's voice was ringing through his ears. It seemed like Shikamaru had used the mind transfer jutsu to connect to him,

"I'm listening. Do you have any clue on her whereabouts now?"

"_Hai. We have pinpointed her position. 2 hours North from the Tea Country border with the Water Country."_

"Good. All of you can retire now. Tell everyone to return to the village; Tsunade-Ba-Chan and the village need all of you. I'll send my closest clones in that area to continue the search and I'll be there shortly. Tell everyone to get proper rest. Thank you, Shikamaru."

"_Don't even mention it. Hinata is our comrade too. We do not want anything to happen to her either. I'll tell everyone to resign now, and... Good luck, Naruto. Bring her back and make lots of babies."_

Naruto could swear that he heard chuckles from Shikimaru. Damn that little... Naruto smiled. So many things had happened that he forgot about his promises to make babies with Hinata. Now that he thought about it, everything was like a dream. However, as he got closer to where Hinata was right now, the more he wanted to run away. He did not know what to do, he did not know what to say, but he missed her... He missed her terribly. It was only four days but it felt like centuries since he last saw her.

He stopped at the entrance of the cave that was believed to be where she was right now. His heart pounded rapidly in his chest and he began to have difficulties breathing. He wanted to see her but at the same time was afraid to see her again. One leg pushed him to go forward while the other one pulled him back, telling him to run away. Naruto held the lucky charm that Hinata gave him tight in his hand, and his resolve was strengthened. No matter what happened he needed to talk to her. It would be fine and they would figure things out.

Naruto entered the cave. It was illuminated faintly with a candle, but Naruto could still see Hinata sitting on a huge rock, hugging her knees and...crying? Naruto's heart clenched; according to what Sai read in a book and told him before they left the gate, what he did with Sakura was what society called adultery, and adultery was highly forbidden in any society and any time period in the human history. People were burned alive several times in the past for committing this highly sinful act. It was the guaranteed way to destroy a marriage, and the couple in the marriage might not see each other for the rest of their lives once one of them committed the sin. The only way to wash the sin and recover the marriage was to beg your partner for forgiveness with all of your heart. Sai had advised him several ways in the book that had over ninety percent chance of success; he might as well try the first one.

XxXxXxXxXx

Naruto knelt down, knocking his head on the floor,

"I'm sorry Hinata, for committing adultery! I promise I'll never do it again! I'm not gonna even think about it. I'll never take a glance of any other girls but you!"

Naruto didn't really understand the whole adultery thing; he just remembered and repeated what was in the book for the begging part.

Hinata looked up. It was Naruto. Her heart beat fast and her body began tremble in fear. What should she do now? She was not supposed to meet him again. Should she run again? And why did he kneel in front of her and knock his head on the floor like that? Oh, God, Naruto would get hurt if he continued to knock his head on the floor like that! Hinata rushed to Naruto's side and lifted his head up,

"Naruto-kun, are you hurt?" Hinata took out her handkerchief and wiped Naruto's forehead. She then took out her clan's special medicine and put it on his bruise. Naruto grabbed her hand and stopped her,

"So does this mean you forgive me for my adultery sin?"

'Adultery?...Sin...?... What Naruto-kun is talking about?'

Looking at Hinata's confused face reminded Naruto of something he didn't want to remember. Hinata was almost kissed by Neji, so was it also counted as adultery? Naruto mentally shook his head. What he did was wrong, and he needed to apologize to her for that. The issue between her and Neji had to be discussed later; for now he would just beg her forgiveness,

"You know... about the kiss with Sakura-chan... I'm sorry..."

Hinata shook her head sadly, "No, I'm the one who need to apologize. I should not have come between you two when I already knew that you two loved each other..." The tears welling in her eyes were now freely falling like rain on her pale cheek.

Naruto could not stand it. He could not stand to see her cry like this so he did the thing that he should have done long before; he cupped her face and brushed his lips onto her, tasting her sweet lips. Naruto wrapped his arms around her trembling body and brought her closer to his. He gently stroked her hair while deepening the kiss. This felt right, just right. This should have happened long ago. As they broke their kiss, Naruto smiled as Hinata,

"You are the only one I want to kiss. You are the only one I want to be with."

A deep shade crept Hinata's cheek as she looked down and shakily folded her hands together,

"But what about Sakura-san?"

"She said that she loved me." Naruto answered calmly, then he grinned and scratched his head, "and I love her too", seeing Hinata averted her eyes back to the ground, Naruto tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him,

"I do love her like a sister, like a good friend, a good comrade; the same way I love Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Shino, Neji, and everyone else in the village. But my heart doesn't beat like crazy every time I meet her the same way it beats whenever you're near me. Her image is never in my mind because it is already full of yours. I don't worry every second of my life about her well being the same way I do about yours. I will not get mad and be irrationally jealous when I see her with another man. I will not go crazy and ask Ba-Chan to gather all the men available just to find her like I did to find you. Hinata…" Naruto hugged Hinata tight in his arm, "Never leave me again."

They stayed like that for what seemed like eternity. They wished that time could stop so that they could always be together like this forever. A breeze lightly blew through her hair, and Hinata quivered lightly,

"Are you cold, Hinata?"

Hinata shook her head but Naruto insisted she take his jacket and wrapped it around her small body,

"Hinata, promise me that you will never leave me. Never leave my side again."

Hinata bit her lower lip. She didn't know what to do. It seemed like good things never came since she was with Naruto. She was not sure if he did this because of responsibility or pity. Hinata clenched her fists; she really did not know what to do. On one hand, she wanted to be with Naruto, but on the other hand, she was afraid...

"Hinata," Naruto looked at her sadly. The only reason that she was so hesitant to answer him was because she was not in love with him; the only one she wanted to be with was Neji. Although it pained his heart to no end, he would not tie her with him. He would not interfere with her happiness. If being with Neji made her happy, so be it. He was used to being rejected before. It was no big deal. His heart clenched. He took her hands and smiled, "Thank you, Hinata. You have been very nice to me. I'll treasure all of our memories together. Don't worry about me. Now, go to him."

"Go to him?" Hinata asked puzzlingly, "What are you talking about, Naruto? Who is the he you want me to go to?"

"The one that you want to be with. Neji." Naruto became impatient; he really did not want to drag the matter any longer. Thinking about her and Neji made thousands of needles sting into his heart. He did not know how long he could remain calm and collected. He might get crazy at any moment and run off to kill any thing that was unlucky enough to get into his eyes.

"But you are the only want I want to be with." Hinata became impatient too. Her nervousness and Naruto's ambiguity had increased her tension a lot.

Naruto crashed his lips onto Hinata again. Hinata grabbed his head and drew him close, tasting his lips more thoroughly this time. The feeling of his warm lips against her made her feel stronger. The feeling of his hands grabbing her head so tightly and firmly made her want to tell him again and again her feelings. As they broke the kiss the second time to take breath, Hinata told Naruto,

"I love you."

"What about Neji?" Naruto's voice was shaking as he gathered all of his courage to confirm her feelings one last time.

"What about him?" Hinata began to feel frustrated of the way Naruto brought up Neji all the time. How was her cousin involved in this?

"Don't you love him?"

"Why wouldn't I? He is my cousin. He is my family." Heat began to cross her face. What she really wanted to hear now was Naruto confirmed his feelings to her, not talking about family love.

This was harder than he thought, but he would not give up now. He should not draw any conclusion on this yet. He needed to hear her answer more clearly. He wanted to know who she loved more.

"Who do you love more? Me or Neji? You said that you want to be with me but you love Neji too. Don't you want to be with him too?"

This was getting so ridiculous. Normally, Hinata was a very shy and patient girl, but for the last four days she had experienced too many emotional traumas; plus she had been kissed by her husband twice and heard sweet words from him, but he had not told her he loved her yet but asked nonsense questions about her cousin instead. If she was the old Hinata she would not ask him to confirm his love, but now she really needed to know if he just pitying her or if he really wanted to be with her. She wanted him to be happy; she didn't want him to bind his life with someone he didn't love just because of responsibility. She gathered all of the courage she had collected since she was born and asked him what she wanted to know the most,

"Do you love me, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto was going to get crazy at any moment. Why didn't she tell him who she loved more already instead asking him something so obvious?

"Of course I love you. Otherwise I would not be a fool for so long. I would not get crazy just seeing you and Neji together. Why don't you just tell me you do you love more and really want to be with?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I love you and you are the only one I want to be with?"

Hinata blinked. She could not believe it. She yelled at Naruto. She yelled at Naruto. What was wrong with her today? She really felt like fainting now, but before she could faint, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her body and lips on her again, giving her the most intense and passionate kiss ever. Naruto was getting really impatient; he licked her lips, asking for an entrance, and as she shyly opened her mouth, his tongue crashed in, wrestling like crazy with her, tasting every bit of her mouth. He grabbed her neck and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. He had never felt so good before. She tasted like heaven; so gentle and timid yet strong and determinate. He could feel her hands clutched to his back and then tracing unknown patterns down to his spine which caused several waves of pleasure to run like electricity through his body.

Unconsciously he placed her down the ground and was on top of her. Their tongues never left each other's mouths, like they were afraid they would never see each other again if they did. However, any good thing had to come to an end, they broke their kiss the third time for breath. Still on top of Hinata, Naruto asked

"So you choose me and not Neji?"

Hinata panted heavily after the intense kiss. She grabbed his neck and pulled him closer, "Why do you keep talking about Neji-nisan? How would this relate to us, to what..." She blushed and began to stutter again, "t-to ….w-what w-we ar-e are d-doing r-right n-now?"

This was Naruto's turn to blush and stutter, "I-I t-thought t-that y-you lo-loved Neji a-and..." Naruto inhaled deeply, "you would leave me for him, and …." Naruto's face became redder, "...and...you and him w-would w-would w-would k-kis-k-is-..."

As smart as Hinata was, she finally understood the problem. She pulled his head closer and placed a kiss on it. "He is my cousin. I love him as a cousin, as a brother; the same way I love Kiba and Shino, but I do not blush at him whenever he is near me. I would not faint if I got closer to him. My heart would not beat like crazy when I meet..." but before she could continue, Naruto had grabbed her head for another kiss.

A/N: Please excuse me for having them kiss so many times, but that was for the time they could have kissed in the story; they missed that opportunities three or four times as far as I could remember, so think of this as a remedy for all of the loss. And... my description skill really has its limit so forgive me to skip the description for this kiss. Oh, things are getting hot here. Let's return to our story.

Naruto's hands began to roam around without any clear destination; he was still too absorbed in the kiss like he wanted to be dissolved into it completely. Returning to the destination of his hands, they had found their way to the most noticeable parts of her body and rested on it while sometime before deciding squeezed the assets here and there, earning pleasant wonderful sounds from her throat. That was when all the fun began... or actually ended.

Neji ran to the cave, but immediately turned his head away as he saw the scene in front of him. Naruto immediately got off Hinata while she tried to get decent. Her face was now as red as a tomato. Naruto silently cursed Neji. Why did he always have to show up just at the right time to spoil everything? Next time when he wanted to have... some private moments with his wife, he would make sure to tie Neji up to a tree or something like that.

"Naruto, we have a problem here. Sasuke has escaped. He pretended to search for Hinata like everybody else, but when we used all of our forces and attention to find her, he had successfully made his escape."

Hinata gasped. Tears welled in her eyes. It was all because of her. After everything Naruto had to go through to bring Sasuke back, she was the reason that Naruto lost Sasuke again.

"Naruto… I..." Hinata wrapped her arms around her chest to keep herself from sobbing.

Naruto took her into his arms again and kissed on her forehead, "Why do you have to cry, Hinata? It is not your fault. When I asked Ba-Chan to send reinforcements, I had guessed this would be one of the consequences, but I still decided to do so because it was the fastest way to find you, to ensure your safety. You do not have to cry because it is my decision. I have chosen you over Sasuke; no, I have chosen you over the village because you are the most important person in my life."

Hinata sobbed uncontrollably as she tightened her hold on Naruto.

"I'm sorry, Hinata, but I have to do my duty to the village now. I have to repair my mistakes; I have to find him and drag him back. Having him roam around is too dangerous to the village." Naruto gently pushed her away, "Don't wait for me; I do not know when I will come back. Have a good life without me." Naruto's voice was cracking and broken as he tried to finish the last sentence. He placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and turned his back away,

"Do not worry about me. I'm the great Uzumaki Naruto. I will not die. I will come back; I still have to be the Hokage. Just... don't wait for me... find someone that will take a better care of you... Neji, please take care of her."

With a flash, he disappeared, letting the lifeless Hinata stumble on the ground, unable to move or talk. All she could do was murmur in her weak voice, "I'll wait for you, no matter how long it takes."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

This story will have 15 chapters. Next chapter is the ending. Thank you for sticking with me for so long.


	15. All's well that ends well

**A/N:**

This is the last chapter.

Thank you everyone for following this story up to the end. Special thanks for the reviewers, your encouragements have helped me to finish this story.

All thanks for Pyocola Analogue III that chapters 6-15 are edited. I'll edit chapter 1-6 when I have time, so I will still put this story under in-process until I'm done with the proofread.

(9/29/11)

* * *

><p>Hinata watered the Hyacinth, carefully letting the water flow through each bud like she was afraid one misstep and the flowers would be ruined forever. She put the water bucket on the small table next to the porch and went into the kitchen to have dinner before heading up to train. She stopped as she came to the dining table. The house was so quiet without Naruto. Three months? Three years? Thirty years? She could not remember anymore. She had to look at the calendar, but she was sure it was a long time, very, very, long time ago since she last saw him. As she held the small calendar in her hand and looked at the date, she immediately dropped it. It was impossible...<p>

Three days... He only left for three days. Impossible, there must be a mistake! She bent down to pick the calendar up and looked at it again. She had carefully marked the date he left so that she would keep track of the days, otherwise she would go crazy; but maybe she was already crazy for not even knowing the time and date any more. There was a knock on the door. She sighed; it must be Neji. She had bluntly refused to go back to the Hyuuga mansion, and since then Neji kept coming to her house and asked her to come back or, more likely, to check up on her.

She hesitantly went to the door and opened it. For one second, she thought she could go blind for the sun was too bright for her to handle. She blinked, but it was not the sun, it was a man that was even brighter than the sun. She threw herself at him and cried,

"Thank you, Naruto-kun, for coming to my dream. I was afraid that I could not even see you in my dream, that the time we were together was my delusion..."

Suddenly the figure grabbed her head and kissed her passionately. Even it was a dream, Naruto's taste sure was nice. It was just the same as the last time; warm and full of love. She wondered if she had gone over board this time to dream something like having a kiss with Naruto. As they broke the kiss, the Naruto in her dream grinned,

"Could someone in a dream kiss you like that? And don't you dare count this as a dream. From now on, you have to remember each and every kiss I give you...", but before he could finish the sentence, his stomach had growled loudly. He scratched his head and smiled,

"I guess I am too hungry; I haven't eaten anything for three days."

This sure was weird. Why would Naruto in her dream get so hungry? It sounded a little too real for her liking; however, she was the one who was dreaming here, she should have the absolute control,

"I don't want you to get hungry; I want you to kiss me again. This is my dream so you cannot get hungry as you please. I'm the queen of this world; if I say you cannot get hungry, you cannot do so."

The man looked at her in surprise and then laughed uncontrollable. He bent down to his stomach as the laugher getting stronger and stronger,

"Hinata..." He continued to laugh and was unable to continue, "Hinata, just give me something to eat, ok? I'm starving now."

Hinata furrowed her brows. As much as she wanted to keep control of her dream, she didn't want him to disappear either, so she probably should do as he pleased.

XxXxXxXx

Hinata was gazing at Naruto as he finished his tenth ramen bowl. Her chin leaned against the back of her palm. This dream sure was long; it had been almost thirty minutes and she had not still woken up yet. It was a dream so maybe the time was inaccurate as well, but she really wanted to look at him a little longer. He hadn't changed one bit since she last saw him. Of course he would not change; this was a dream, after all. However, she should wake up soon or she would be late for her training.

She squeezed her palm hard, but she had not woken up. Then she decided to use a more effective method, she pulled out a kunai and prepared to stab it in her knee. Naruto grabbed her hand in panic,

"What are you doing, Hinata? Really, it's not a dream. It's real, I'm back." Still seeing doubt in her eyes, Naruto pulled her sleeve up and bit hard on her arm, making Hinata cry out in surprise.

The pain began to spread through her body and to make sure she even squeezed her arm again. It must be true. Naruto had returned home after just three days and it was not a dream.

"Sorry Hinata. I..." Naruto blushed, hoping Hinata wouldn't know that the bite was his way to mark her, to make her remember him now and forever.

X-X-X-X-X-X

"So you know, I haven't eaten anything during these three days in the Hokage office…"

Hinata placed her chin on the back of her palm, listening intensively as Naruto told her the whole story. It appeared that Naruto had been stopped by the ANBU on his way out of the cave and been dragged to the Hokage's office.

"Hum, Ba-chan is really terrible. She insisted on forcing me to finish the book in three days and ordered me to stay in the village and not chase after Sasuke, so I guess here I am..."

Naruto scratched his head and grinned; he hadn't told her the whole truth yet, but there was no need, he guessed.

_Flash back:_

_Naruto tried hard to get out of the rope in vain for the past hour. He could not believe this. How could a mere rope be that difficult to untie?_

"_It's because you are a stupid one." Like she could read his mind, Tsunade said in her mocking tone. She took a sip of sake, and lay back on her chair, looking out to the Hokage's window, enjoying the peaceful sky before she turned her head and gave her full attention to Naruto,_

"_What do you gain chasing after Sasuke, Naruto?"_

_Naruto clenched his fists, _

"_He is my friend and I have to open his eyes. I have failed to do so many times before, but this time, this time I will open his eyes for sure, I'll bring him back. Besides, it's my fault that he escapes. If he will do anything to the village... I..."_

"_If so..." Tsunade took another sip, "It sounds to me that you do not consider him as a friend but more like an enemy, Naruto. Why can't you be honest with yourself? The old Sasuke is dead; the Sasuke now is incurable. You have tried to heal him, haven't you? But nothing has worked. What good could it bring chasing after him? You will just be wasting your time."_

"_But if I cannot save even a friend, how could I become a Hokage?"_

"_Mature, Naruto. You have tried everything in your power to help him, but some times we just need to accept reality and move on. Besides, you are not a 12 year-old good for nothing brat who could do anything he wants any more; you have responsibilities now. Responsibilities that you need to fulfill as a man."_

"_Bringing Sasuke back is one of those responsibilities.'"_

"_How long would it take for you to find him? Ten years? Twenty years? Aren't there other things that you need to accomplish too? Aren't there other people that are much more important to you now? Don't you have precious things to you that you need to protect? How could you do all of that? How can you follow your dreams if you keep chasing a shadow of a past?" Tsunade grabbed his shirt, "Grow up, Naruto. Forget about Sasuke. Focus on your future, on what is really important to you. Leave Sasuke in the ANBU's hands. We'll find him and take good care of him. You need to be strong; you need to protect the village in the future if he were to destroy it. Chasing after him is a waste of time; if you want to redeem your mistakes, use the time to be stronger and make the village stronger. Stay here, with us, Naruto."_

_Naruto's heart wretched painfully as he saw tears in Tsunade's eyes. He upset her again, but she was right. He had Hinata now. He could not leave her like that. He was so selfish to ask her to be with him while he left her... She must be very sad and lonely... And the village too... The village was still recovering; he could not abandon it like that... Then there were problems with the Allies. He needed to work hard with the Kages and other village leaders in building a new world for shinobies. He had too many responsibilities now; too many things he wanted to accomplish. And to be honest, he had gotten over Sasuke a long time ago when he defeated him and dragged him back to the village. What did not mean to be wouldn't mean to be. He was sure that he would have to deal with Sasuke in the future. He just needed to be ready before then._

"_Sorry, Tsunade-Ba-chan, for being so selfish."_

"_So you will stay, huh?" Tsunade quickly wipe her eyes and returned to her desk,_

"_I will stay and protect the village at all cost."_

"_Good. You are a true man, Naruto." Tsunade turned her head back. Her hands held a stack of paper. She looked astonishingly cheerful now. Women were such weird creatures; they could cry in one second and smile in the next second._

"_Talking about the village, we are still in a financial crisis now, so back to those books I told you about. Try to finish the drafts for the first book in three days, ok Naruto? I'm so tired now. I'll take a nap. When I wake up, I want to see you have some serious writing done for me. We do not have much time."_

_With that, Tsunade went to sleep while Naruto called out his bunshins to help him writing the book. Ba-chan was really evil._

"Can you believe that, Hinata? Ba-chan is evil; really, really evil. She did not let me eat anything and I had to write and write and write for the past three days. At least the draft is done now and she has sent it to the publication to edit, so I hope she's happy now and will leave me alone for a while."

Hinata smiled. Naruto seemed to come back to normal now. Naruto stopped talking and smiled back at Hinata, placing his hands on hers.

XxXxXxX

Neji stretched his arms and yawned. It was so peaceful today. He could hear the birds singing, welcoming the new start of a good day. That was when he heard a familiar voice whose tone used to bring anything but troubles.

"Ha ha ha. You know, Hiashi, you are all the way behind me, but I cannot blame you though. Fortune comes to those with high intelligent and charisma. Ha ha ha."

Neji could not believe in his ears; this was the voice of the evil distant relative. What was he doing here? Neji had a bad feeling about this. He leaned his ear against the door and concentrated hard to not miss any words.

"Hai, Hiashi. You do not need to worry. You are lucky enough to have such an excellent son-in-law, considering how much your daughter looks like you; so, if you have the luck like you did last time, sooner or later you will be blessed with grandchildren."

The evil distant relative continued to laugh, completely ignoring the deadly silence Hiashi imposed on the whole room. "Ha ha ha! I still can't believe that I will be a grandfather in six months and according to the doctor, it will be twins. I'm such a lucky person to have my daughter pregnant just three months after her wedding, but I guess that it's nothing to be surprised about. I heard that good genes tend to spread very quickly. Talking of that, I remember that your daughter's wedding was just several weeks ahead my daughter, so she is five months married, correct, Hiashi?"

Neji pushed his ears harder on the door, but he just heard something faintly like "around four months" from Hiashi-sama.

"Oh, four months, huh? So did you hear any good sign from her yet, Hiashi?"

Neji crossed his fingers nervously. 'Please Kami, do not let Hiashi-sama go out of control like last time and say something like Hinata has been pregnant for three months'. Neji really didn't know how to find a baby and put it into Hinata's stomach, and with the flow like now it was very less likely that she could have a baby any time soon.

"My son-in-law is very busy now with the village's businesses, and my daughter is still on her way learning to become a great heir, so they both do not have time and do not want to have any children yet."

'Nice catch, Hiashi-sama'. Neji sighed in relief. Of course Hiashi-sama would never do something that childish. 'Sorry Hiashi-sama, for ever doubting you. Please kick his ass real hard and show him what the Hyuuga is really made of.'

"Hiashi, you're still bad with excuses like ever." The evil distant relative laughed, "But I cannot blame you. You have to be careful though, Hiashi; I heard rumors that they are not good to your clan's reputation." He paused before continue, "I heard people say that the whole marriage is a fake; it's your set up to cover people's eyes. The truth is that your daughter has some... unhealthy attraction toward a certain member of the household, and you want to hide that with the marriage. You could not blame them though, Hiashi. Having children is a sign of a happy marriage. Lacking in that aspect could certainly stir suspicion around."

Neji clenched his fists. How dare this old goat insulted Hinata-sama like that? Who the hell was starting the rumors? He would break their legs and arms and necks so that they would never slander Hinata again.

"Ridiculous. They are on their way to have children. They have planned to have ten at least. And actually, this morning Hinata just told me that she is already pregnant for one month."

Neji really wanted to knock his head hard on the wall. There, Hiashi-sama really did it.

There was an uncomfortable silence, before the evil distant relative laughed, "Hiashi, you are really an amazing guy, aren't you? I'm looking forward to seeing how you could have a grandchild in the course of eight months."

And that was how Neji ended up in Hiashi's office later that afternoon.

"How are Naruto and Hinata doing recently?" Hiashi asked. His voice was as calm and collected as ever,

"Hai, Hiashi-sama. They are doing everything well. Naruto's book "The tale of Uzumaki Naruto: Part 1" is a huge hit, and Tsunade-sama was generous enough to give Naruto 50% of the revenue from selling the book. That money was more than enough for them to build a small mansion on the land of his late father, the 4th Hokage. As of today, they are moving into the mansion with the help of..."

"That's enough." Hiashi's voice rose slightly. He seemed to get impatient. "I'm well aware of their current beings. What I want to know is their standing as a husband and wife; have they made any progress recently?"

Neji coughed. He could not guess what Hiashi wanted, so the best was stick to the truth,

"Well, I think they have made great progress lately. After the big incident, they had gotten much closer together..."

"Do they do anything else beside kissing?"

Neji blushed and coughed again, "Well, Hiashi-sama, Naruto seems to be a very decent man who knows the limit..."

"To be short, there is no way Hinata could have a baby in eight month, is it?"

"Well, Hiashi-sama, things like this must not be rushed..."

Hiashi leaned his back against the chair, his finger tapped lightly on the desk,

"How about the workshop Tsunade planned to give them long ago?"

Neji adjusted his seat lightly, "Well, it actually never happened. After Sasuke left, seeing how Naruto has now been more... comfortable around his wife, Tsunade-sama has been confident that Naruto could handle everything by himself and sooner or later the fruit of their marriage will be created, so she cancelled the workshop due to financial difficulty.

There was a soft noise in Hiashi's throat that sounded like a sarcastic laughter, "Huh, budget cut due to financial difficulty while she earns half of Naruto book's revenue without pouring a single sweat." His fingers tapped harder on the desk as he turned his eyes toward the bookshelf. "Neji, do you still keep your Icha Icha collection?"

Neji's face was ten times redder as the question hit him, but he was smart enough to not deny it and went through with the flow, "I do, Hiashi-sama. I'll present it to him shortly if you want to."

Hiashi nodded. Neji was a very sharp man, fitting to be the head of the clan now that Hinata was married to Naruto. She, sooner or later, had to fulfill her role as the Hokage's wife and take care of her own family. It would be too much if she had to lead the clan too. Hiashi looked at Neji gently, "Tomorrow, call Naruto to come here. I want to talk to him."

XxXxXxXx

Hinata put the lily vase on the dinner table and looked around. Everything looked so perfect now. The new home was ten times bigger than the old apartment with several rooms; spares for now. The Hokage insisted to build them a big house with ten rooms at least and a huge backyard so that Naruto and Hinata's future children could have a comfortable place to live and train. Hinata blushed. She turned her head around as she heard the front door open.

Naruto closed the door. His face was bright red and he insisted to look at the ground as he talked to Hinata.

"Um...Um, um… Hinata." Naruto tried to look at her but fail, and he averted his eyes to the floor again. "Um, I just had a talk with your father, and he has shown me the true way of being a husband and a second secret that has been passed down generation through generation in your clan." He raised his eyes up, full of hope, "An ultimate way to have children right away with 100% chance of success."

Hinata looked at Naruto in confusion. He was sure weird today. He took out a piece of paper and nodded firmly, his eyes were full of determination. He then lifted her up, much to her surprise and carried her bridal style to their bedroom.

XxXxXxX

Outside the house, on the roof top. were five figures pressing their ears on the roof, trying to make sense of situation based on the noises, but all they could hear were:

"Hic," Hinata giggled, "That's tickle, Naruto-kun. Down, a little down..."

They pressed their ears harder on the roof, their hearts beat rapidly in excitement and expectation.

"But Hinata..." Naruto's voice trailed off. "It...It's so big". He exclaimed in panic. "What should I do with it? Hold on, let me see." There was a sound of flipping paper. Naruto seemed to check on his note. "Um, in here it says that we have to go all the way down; maybe you have to take it out completely.

There was a sound of something falling down the floor. Hinata seemed to faint again.

15 minutes later.

"Hinata, are you feeling ok, now?" Naruto asked nervously.

The five on the rooftop pressed their ears on the roof again. Something should be happening by now.

"S-sorry, N-Naruto-kun..."

"I-It's my fault, Hinata. I just read the note again, and it says that it will be more productive if I'm the one who does it." There was a pause, and Naruto continued, "If you don't want to, we can stop here..."

The five murmured, "Baka. Just do it already. We have been waiting for half an hour. Don't you dare try to stop now."

"No, Naruto-kun. Please continue." Hinata's voice was shaking in nervousness.

The five chuckled in silence. They could imagine a reluctant Naruto tremblingly took _that off. _

There was another sound of something falling on the floor again. This time it seemed like it was Naruto's turn to faint.

Ino punched her fists up in anger, "What the hell is this idiot doing? Does he even have a brain?"

The other four put their fingers on their lips, signaling Ino to be quiet. Kiba growled in his softest voice, "Shush! Keep it down, you baka."

Sai said calmly, "You cannot blame Naruto though. Whoever sees _that _in flesh would pass out from mega nosebleed."

His friends looked at him suspiciously and asked him in union, "Do you even know what _that_ is?"

Sai pulled out a notebook and a pen before answering them calmly, "Do not underestimate me. I have done a throughout research before joining you guys in this special mission. Now please excuse me, I'll have to record everything happen down there to report back to the Hokage."

Ino rolled her eyes, "This is no special mission. We came here to..." But Ten-Ten had stopped her before she could continue, "You are right, Sai. This is a very special mission, but no need to report to the Hokage though, just give it to me. Remember to be as detail in the report as possible, ok?"

When Sai turned his head away and began to take notes, Ten-Ten winked at Ino. Hee hee; she would have enough material for future use.

Chouji put a potato chip in his mouth, "Hey, I do not want to spoil the fun, but it seems like Naruto's woke up."

The five immediately pressed their ears against the roof top yet again.

"Sorry about that, Hinata." The five immediately had an image of Naruto giving out his famous grin and scratching his head in embarrassment. "I'm just a little shocked, that's all." Ino and Ten-Ten giggled; they could picture in their naughty minds a Naruto red face staring at a half exposed Hinata "No. No. Don't look away. I...I...don't think it could be that beautiful...I'm sorry for fainting."

But Hinata had stopped him before he could continue, "T-thanks, Naruto-kun. P-please continue. Y-you y-you can touch it if you want to."

Ino and Ten-Ten held each other hands in nervousness, sweat running like rain down their palms. This was it. Finally, they could learn the true art of becoming a woman now.

There was a sound of something falling on the floor again. It seemed like this time it was Hinata's turn to faint.

Five hours later.

"N-Naruto-kun. It's so big." There was a sound of something fell on the floor. Hinata fainted yet again.

Ino yawned, "Let's go home, you guys. Today's mission on gathering information was a failure. This is the tenth time Hinata fainted already. I believe she will wake after ten minutes and before they could do anything seriously, it will be Naruto's turn to faint, which will make him up to ten times too. I'm so tired. Let's go home. There will be nothing happen between them no matter how long we'll be here. I'm sure of it. They are the biggest idiot I have ever met"

XxXxXxXxXx

Twelve hours later, in Naruto's bed room.

Naruto wrapped the blanket around their exhausted bodies and smiled at the sleeping Hinata. It took a really, really long time, but finally they did it. They were both hardworking people and always had to put extra time into everything, but now they did it. Finally. Naruto kissed Hinata's forehead. And it felt good, felt amazing. Something he had never experienced before. He felt so attached to her now... and happy... He smiled and closed his eyes, still holding Hinata tightly in his arms. If he knew it was that good, he would do it every single day. How much time did he miss the wonder of love? No worries though, he had all his life to compensate. He would use it well.

XxXxXxXxXx

Temari crossed her leg and fanned herself with her favorite white and back fan, looking at the Hokage intensively, "So are you up to it, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade coughed. She tried to find a bottle of sake but all in vain. Naruto had strictly forbidden her to ever touch a drink again and made her promise to never gamble again; which Shizune was more than happy to reinforce. Damn that little brat. What did he know? She could not think clear without sake. Stupid, stupid Naruto. She was the one who set rules, not him.

Temari smirked, "I have heard a ridiculous rumor. Something about the genin Naruto who now even has some power passed the current Hokage. Is he the reason you are reluctant to make a bet with me, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade clenched her fists and pounded it on the desk, "Bring it on. I'm all up to it. What's your bet?"

Temari stand up and got closer to Tsunade's desk, "You an go first, Tsunade. The bet will be about Hinata's pregnancy. When do you think it will happen?"

Tsunade bit her lower lips. This was going to be easy. No one knew about Naruto and Hinata more than she did. According to her informative..."Well, I bet that in another one month."

Temari lightly fingered Naruto's book "The Tale of Uzumaki Naruto" on the desk before looking up to the Hokage, "You look confident, Hokage-sama. So you're in the bet now?"

"Cut to the chase. Just tell me hear your bet and the condition." Tsunade suddenly had a bad feeling about it. Somehow it felt very similar to her bet with Hiashi.

"Well. Then I bet that she is already pregnant now."

"That's impossible. They haven't..." Tsunade leaned her back against the chair, crossing her arms, "Then, what's the condition?"

"If you win, Tsunade-sama, I'll give you the whole box of white special premium sake of the Sand."

"You mean the legendary sake that has been kept for ten years?"

Termari nodded, "It's the only box in this whole world. Only our family has it, and it has been our treasure and pride for years. But if you lose, Tsunade-sama." Temari put the book back on the desk and places both hands on it, leaning forward to Tsunade, "I want you to set up an arrange marriage for Gaara with someone who could match up with him."

'Finding someone for Gaara? And that person has to match with a person such as him? What a joke! How the hell could she find someone of such caliber? And make that person agree to marry Gaara, of all people. She's going to have a very bad headache if she were to lose this bet.'

"Hokage-sama, is this something too difficult for you? If so I can find another person to help. I'm sure someone like Hiashi-sama would solve this problem in a mere second."

"Of course I could do it; if I were to lose, that is." Tsunade smirked.

"That's cool, Hokage-sama. Let's sign this. And to make it more fun, let's put our pride as a shinobi on this bet."

Tsunade grabbed her pen eagerly and signed. It had been a while since she felt this excited, "You are right, Temari. It is much better to put our prides on a bet. Betting is the best."

Temari folded the paper and carefully out it in her pocket before taking out another paper. She carefully unfolded it and gave it to Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama, this is the paper confirming Hinata's two week pregnancy from the Hyuuga's medical team division. Of course, you could call Hinata and get her check up again."

Tsunade read the paper carefully, trying her best not to curl her hand into a fist. Instead, she smiled at Temari. "You have prepared very carefully, Temari. It's not a bet; it's more like you already knew it and set a trap for me to be in."

Temari waved her hands in a fake panic, "Of course not, Tsunade-sama. You are the greatest Hokage of all time. How can a lowly shinobi like myself dare to trick you? It's just for fun; pure entertainment only. Actually I have prepared the premium sake for you." She clasped her hands, and a sand shinobi came in, bringing a medium silver box with golden flower decorated around it. Temari took the box and carefully put in on the desk, opening the top to reveal twenty pure white sake bottles made by the finest china.

Tsunade sniffed. Although the sake was still sealed and in the box, she could smell that it was the best sake ever. It must be the legendary sake of the Sand. However, she still kept her silence, waiting for Temari to carry on the conversation.

Temari signaled for the sand shinobi to leave and returned to Tsunade, "Hokage-sama, please think of it as a favor from the sand. We have set up at least a hundred marriage interviews for Gaara, but all were in vain. He didn't like any of them at all although every single one of the candidate was carefully chosen by the council and myself. I heard that you have successfully arranged a marriage for the "good for nothing and certainly cannot be compared to my great brother" Naruto, so it must be a piece of cake to find someone for my talented and super powerful brother, right, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade glanced at the sake bottles. Damn it. What did she get herself into? A marriage matcher?

"Fine, but do not tell anyone about this, and do not start a rumor like I'm a marriage matcher. I do not want to be bothered ever again to set up an arranged marriage. Never again. Do you hear me?'

"Hai, hai, Hokage-sama. Please help me."

Temari left the Hokage's office and smirked, "All's well that ends well; happy endings to everyone."

Fin

* * *

><p><strong>Tsunade's punishment: (special ending for Hektols and those that demand punishments for Tsunade and Hiashi for the crimes they commit)<br>**

Komate shouted "Rasengan" and threw a tomato toward a busy Tsunade who was wiping a stream of milk of the cheek of a blue eyed sunshine haired infant boy with one hand and lifting a two year old dark blue haired with blue eyed girl with the other hand. She titled her head to one side to dodge the tomato, but was hit square on the face by the next two tomatoes that came just after the first one.

Komate, a five year old boy with blue eyes and dark blue hair laughed, "How's my massive rasengan, Baa-baa?"

"Baka. What are you doing? Now I cannot see anything! How can I change the diaper for your little brother, brat?"

A three years old white lavender eyes light blue hair shyly tugged Tsunade's grass green robe and pointed at a wound on her forehead. Tsunade yelled, "Komate, you baka! You wounded your poor little sister. Do you see?"

Komate stuck his tongue out, "You are the baka. You look so stupid with tomato juice on your old and ugly face. Chase after me, if you can." He pushed his hips out to Tsunade before running away. His voice still rang through the house, "Now witness yellow flash from the Great Uzumaki Komate.'

But before Tsunade could chase after the spoil brat, she felt something wet and warm pouring on her lap. The little infant one sure knew how to piss her off just at the right place and the right time. The two year old girl began to cry from hunger while the three year old girl still tugged at her robe nonstop and did not miss any chance to point out her wounded forehead.

One thing that Tsunade knew for sure; all the Uzumaki brats were spoiled and annoyed and stupid, and she hated them. All of them. Kami, what did she do wrong to live in this hell while the main culprit of her miseries now was having a lot fun with his wife on their long vacation? When would that big ass brat return and take care of his own children?

Meanwhile, in the Hyuuga mansion. Neji placed a wet towel on Hiashi's forehead while the man was still unconscious. Hiashi shivered lightly. He seemed to suffer from a very terrible nightmare. He grabbed the blanket abruptly and talked in his dream,

"Komate, don't. Do not drop it. It's our family treasure for years. Urg." He turned around and shot his hand up, "Quick, Neji, give me the diaper, Histome is about to..." He pulled his blanket up, covering his chin and smiled, "Misune, don't worry, dear. I'll punish Komate for hurting you; now can you perform Byakugan one more time again for me?"

Neji shook his head. Hiashi-sama hadn't recovered from the babysitting section from yesterday yet, but tomorrow was his turn again. Neji really hoped Hiashi-sama would get well again by tomorrow.

XxXxXxXx

Hinata snuggled her head in her husband chest, "Are you sure that we should extend our vacation to another week? I'm really worried for our children, Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled, kissing on her forehead, "No need to worry. Our children are the best. Everyone loves them. Baa-chan and Outo-chan even compete to babysit them. I'm sure everything is fine. Now just enjoy our vacation a little bit more."

Fin

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Hope that the punishments are satistory for everyone.

Anyway, I'll miss all of you and your reviews *big hug to everyone*

I don't think I'll write any Naruto stories for the time being, will take a break. But next time that I write, I'll make sure the gammar will not get in the way.

As for Sasuke. I know he gets away big time, but I think it's logical this way. He will remain as a rouge ninja, living alone, full of hate and resenments for the rest of his life. And I think that is an aquadate punishment for him when he looks up to Naruto, the one who lives in happiness with everyone loves and supports him all the way. Personally, I don't think he'll get his power back and be able to do something bad to the village, but if he does, Naruto will kick his ass in no time.

Hope everyone happy with this ending.


End file.
